Chocolatiers are like wonderful wizards creating indulgent treats that are almost too good to eat. Combining the finest cocoa with inspired ingredients these chocolate alchemists know how to create a little taste of magic - who'd have thought Marmite truffles would taste so good?
Charlie Cottrell follows her nose to the top 10 chocolate shops making life a little more pleasant on a street near you.
Chantal Coady creates chocolates that look like something out of your greatest dreams and taste so good you'll wish you could never feel full. Sophisticated flavours like caramelised almond and Arabian spices satisfy the chocolate connoisseur but it's in the playful designs where the real magic happens. Chocolate crocodiles, hand painted hearts and pralines that look like Jersey new potatoes are a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth.
rococochocolates.com
Everything a chocolate shop should be - beautiful, bijoux and decked with chocolate creations that will make even the steeliest grownups sigh like a little girl. There's always a pot of hot chocolate melting gently in the corner, which sends wafts of chocolatey goodness drifting down the road, giving every passer-by a Charlie Bucket moment.
www.paulayoung.co.uk/
If you're a devoted chocolate guzzler but you need hard facts to back up your obsession, head to a tasting evening at this Edinburgh chocolatier - where your mouth is treated to a range of heavenly cocoa-based treats before you are awarded a certificate confirming your Chocolate Connoisseur status. That's basically a licence to eat chocolate.
www.cocochocolate.co.uk/index.htm
This is an excellent way to get over any 'calorie guilt' a proper chocolate session might bring on. Under the expert guidance of a chocolate guru, a band of plucky chocolate explorers are taken on a whistle stop visit of London's cutest independent chocolate shops, sampling the wares from each. Taste your way around the world while enjoying a very British stroll.
www.chocolateecstasytours.com/
If jewellery is not your thing but you like beautiful creations in pretty boxes, Chococo is the shop for you. Everything here is pretty as a picture and tastes as good as it looks. If you're too far from Swanage to make it your local, you can join the monthly tasting club by post; but a treat really is in store in the form of owners Claire and Andy Burnet - fountains of chocolatey knowledge and bloody lovely to boot.
www.chococo.co.uk
Chocolate here is all organic, which pretty much makes it good for you, right? Stick with that idea and delve into a world of handmade truffles, chocolate penguins and moist-as-you-like brownies all wrapped up in packaging that's practically cute enough to eat. You can't eat it though - it's paper.
www.cocoaloco.co.uk
Everyone should have a few well chosen friends in their circle, in case of emergencies - a doctor, a plumber, a pair of award winning chocolatiers. William Curley and his wife Suzue met while working at the Savoy and the couple have been making beautiful chocolate ever since. They also do a delectable range of cakes that take chocolate and cream to architectural highs.
www.williamcurley.co.uk/
Brand new chocolate flavours are served up in a ye olde café setting. There's a super non-chocolate menu which will help re-balance your palate between chocolate courses. You won't want to miss a thing here - especially the hot chocolate. The perfect antidote to a grizzly rainy day.
www.leclubchocolat.com
If your golden shoes are too tight or you just need an energy burst to take you through another round of trying on designer clothes, this chocolate saloon offers just the pick-me-up. Taking hot chocolate to new levels with single estate melts as well as potent toddies and chocolate fondue for two (or a very greedy one).
www.harrods.com
We're not short of chocolates in Blighty so when you come across some that make your jaw drop open in wonder, you know you're onto something special. Melt's sea salted caramel bonbons achieve such oral gravity - which makes it easier to pop one in. Their bespoke service means they can quite literally make you the chocolate of your dreams. Happy, happy days.
www.meltchocolates.com
The Chocolate House, Pontypridd, Wales
Chouchoute, Birmingham
Chocolat! St Ives, St Ives
The White Rabbit Chocolate Company Beverley, East Yorkshire
The Chocolate Shop Banchory, Royal Deeside
Peruse delicious chocolate recipes on 4Food
Catch up with Channel 4’s chocolate guru, Willie Harcourt-Cooze
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