The end of Hotel Chocolat.

[Pasithean]

Looks like their selling out to mars. 😭😭🙈🤮

please don’t change it.

My beloved Lindt has palm oil

In Ireland Cadbury's advertise their Dairy Milk with the tag line "a glass and a half"
It used to be " a glass and a half in every bar"
Hmmmm

@LeavesinAutumn, to the best of my knowledge they make chocolates to Swiss standards so I don't think there will be any palm oil, but I haven't studied the ingredients list that closely. They are very beautiful and totally delicious, even flavours I wouldn't choose, but the new coffee is sublime.

I think @MeinKraft that once you substitute palm oil for cocoa butter, chocolate bends instead of snapping. The Hobbs chocs have a hard crisp shell, and a filling. They don't need to be refrigerated but the fillings have a three week shelf life unless they are.

Overpriced and naff in my opinion. Was bought a gift hamper of the stuff last Christmas. Waste of money.

Well here's the terrifyingly long ingredients list from my box of MN approved Audrey's chocolates.

A few things leap out at me, firstly the BBE date of next May doesn't really align with 'special, artisan, fresh chocolates' plus they contain palm oil.

Perhaps they'll make it so it's not so overpriced

It isn't really overpriced. Despite the naysayers, I really do think it is better than a lot of chocolate.

@BarbaraofSeville omg. That's a great shame what's wrong with them.

Thankyou 💐

The palm oil is a component part of condensed milk which I imagine is used in some sort of fudge

that box is a selection of different chocolates, all filled with different things. As a food supplier you have to list the ingredients of each separate recipe. So a chocolate dipped fudge becomes chocolate, condensed milk (then the ingredients of the condensed milk listed in the bracket), butter, vanilla extract (components listed in brackets), sugar. They are no longer allowed to write chocolate, condensed milk, sugar, butter, vanilla.

audreys don't make condensed milk. They have to buy in ingredients, some of which may contain stuff like palm oil.

It's not overpriced! It's that most people don't have a clue what really good ingredients cost. If you want cheap chocolate, there's lots available. If you want good or great chocolate, then be prepared to dig deep into your pocket.

And eat less chocolate, infrequently.

No it isn't, and now I've looked properly, it's mentioned in 4 different places.

The EHO requirement to list absolutely every ingredient present in a pre-packaged box of mixed filling chocolates.

If you buy a few @StiffyByngsDogBartholomew , I fervently hope you will like them, as I have talked them up here.

Lovely cocoa butter designs @Papyrophile 🥰

They are expensive treats @StiffyByngsDogBartholomew . You have to have some reassurance that they taste as good as they look. They have had a stall in our local market in the run up to Christmas for the last two years, and they press samples on you to taste. They are unusual in that they don't rely on ganache.

But condensed milk is exactly that and no more. Condensed milk.

They're obviously using 'vegetable' oil in their fudge, toffees, caramels etc, which is inexcusable for a company that presents itself as an artisan maker of finest chocolates using the best ingredients.

Hotel Chocolat was good back in the beginning, but they've morphed into a pricier version of Thorntons these days.

I can recommend Charbonnel & Walker's Marc de Champagne truffles

Thorntons were lovely -- 30 years ago. Made near my grandma, and expensive so just gift giving or celebrations. Sold out to a bigger concern who bought cheaper and cheaper ingredients, and added more and more sugar, and now you get them discounted in Aldi.

@Papyrophile you sound like a expert.
. Are there any other brands you recommend aside from hobbs please

HC we’re lovely chocolates when they first hit the high street but the last box I bought were totally tasteless. What a waste of money.

I complained, they took me seriously and dealt with my complaint very efficiently. I gave away the chocs they compensated me with.
I’ll never buy their chocolates again. Horrible fatty things, no redeeming features. Yuk!

I guess choclate no different to other business that franchise out and loose quality

@BarbaraofSeville did you enjoy them though?

Yes that's exactly it! Bendy instead of snappy. I must check out Hobbs - sounds really promising.