Kokova Magazine

When we were invited to attend Choc Tales, a pairing of chocolates and cocktails, we didn’t need much persuading to visit Dean Street for this première event, in celebration of Chocolate Week.

And with Cocktail Week claiming the same calendar dates Choc Tales is the perfect way to honour both events.

Located just north of Shaftesbury Avenue and of equal distance from Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square and Piccadilly tubes, 68 Dean Street is a masterpiece of early Georgian architecture in central London.

We were warmly welcomed into this period property and presented with a menu card, detailing the pairings on offer in each of the dedicated rooms.

Pairing incredible chocolatiers with talented cocktail makers, each room of the period property holds a unique cocktail and chocolate experience. Preconceptions will be challenged, palettes will be dazzled and you'll leave looking at chocolate in a completely different way. Damian Allsop, Paul a Young, William Curley, Artisan du Chocolat, Rococo and The Grenada Chocolate Company are all taking part.

Shutting the door on the driving rain that had pursued us on our walk to the house, we Hot Butterwere intrigued to discover the first room on the menu contained a warm cocktail.

A little dubious that we may be greeted with something reminiscent of mulled wine we accepted a Gran Reserva Anejo hot buttered rum cocktail, accompanied by a, specially created for the event, rum ganache chocolate from Rococo and The Grenada Chocolate Company.

Any doubts were swiftly replaced with surprise and appreciation for the combination of the rum, apple, butter, treacle and spices cocktail - accompanied by the lightly salted, crisp cased rum truffle chocolate round.

The Santa Teresa Gran Reserva was also available to try in its naked form, alongside their Rhum Orange Liqueur, 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera, Claro, Ron Selecta and the Arakú Ron Y Cafe (a rum-based coffee liqueur). This was going to be a good evening...

The next room was home to Johnny Walker Blue Label and a pyramid of pure pleasure created by award winning British patissier and chocolatier, William Curley.

We were treated to a Tuscano chocolate mousse and Madagascan crème brûlée adorned with gold leaf and nestled on a chocolate sponge base with whisky soaked raisins, accompanied by apricot sauce.

Johan Svensson was on hand to brief us on the history of Johnny Walker and the wonderful blends that showcase the finest ingredients, working in balance and harmony, to make Blue Label one of the finest bottles of Johnny Walker available.

Need we say more...

We entered the third room with great expectations after the previous two and were in no way disappointed. The lovely Cleo Rocos and business partner Stuart Freeman were on hand to greet us and quickly deliver freshly made margaritas.

This margarita cocktail boasts 'no hangover' due to the use of the AquaRiva tequila - made with volcanic spring water and 100% organic, eight year grown Agave - teamed with slow cooking methods and a reduction of methanol during processing, in its creation.

Served on chunks of ice and mixed with lime juice and AquaRiva Organic Agave Syrup AND with Cleo assuring us that Tequila is the only spirit to induce happiness plus its ability to keep us in the 'fuzzy phase' of inebriation, we feel obliged to try our drinks.

Very crisp, refreshing and light, this cocktail satisfies the taste buds without any overpowering flavours. Incredibly drinkable and definitely one we will be trying at home.

Cleo teamed up with Paul A. Young, who brought us Parmesan chocolate micro bars.

Cheese and chocolate! We were unconvinced, until we tasted them. As far as preconceptions being challenged, this blew them apart!

A definite parmesan taste - but one that works in harmony with the quality of the chocolate, rather than doing battle on the palate.

In the fourth room we found the Italian aperitif Aperol joining forces with Artisan du Chocolat, who combined a salt caramel circular wafer containing a cocoa pulp sorbet, with an Aperol Spritz.

Mixed with Prosecco, generally a dry white wine, the Aperol Spritz worked well with the saltiness of the caramel and the bitterness of the dark chocolate.

Rather like a Campari or Martini, we got a short bitter aftertaste but this was in no way unpleasant.

Artisan du chocolat was the first UK pioneer to experiment with making chocolate from ground cocoa beans on an artisan scale in 2006.

The fifth and final room was home for the evening to Damian Allsop, a man with plenty of passion and eager for us to experience the sensations he has created. He referred to this as the 'energy room' - full of reviving flavours and anti-oxidant properties.

We experienced a disc of raw chocolate by Ecuadorian chocolatier Pacari - chocolate that is simply fermented, not roasted. It began by making our mouths water before we tasted grass then fruit and green tea. Our final notes contained, of all things, leather.

Damian had created his own soft yet crunchy water ganache chocolates - with the ganache on the outside. This was nothing short of heaven! A combination of a blackcurrant and green tea meringue base held the ganache proud.

To believe it is to try it...

To accompany this roller coaster of taste we sampled a 'de-constructed bramble' cocktail - Martin Miller's gin shaken with green tea, sugar syrup and lemon juice with blackcurrant cocktail caviar - served in a champagne glass, rimmed with Damian's ganache and matcha powder.

Interesting! But not quite to our taste, so we sneaked back to find the buttered rum in the hope of warming us on our way out into the cold and rain.