A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Yes, we cocoa can
Karen Gordon set up the Roscommon Chocolate Company two years ago and she now makes 20 varieties of truffles by hand – milk, dark “and, begrudgingly, a couple in ‘white’ chocolate”, as well as these caramel- and ganache-filled Easter eggs. You can buy them at Gleesons Townhouse and Deli in Roscommon Town and also at Pal Mulveys Gift Shop in Carrick-on-Shannon (€11.70 for six, or €3 each). Mail order can be arranged by telephoning 0906-665843, or emailing roscommonchocolateco@gmail.com.
The Chocolate Garden of Ireland is a chocolate and ice-cream factory near Tullow, Co Carlow that also includes a workshop where you can learn to work with both products. Classes last one hour and 45 minutes and cost €12.50 per person. Their eggs are colourful and very pretty. chocolategarden.ie.
The Skelligs Chocolate Co has resumed making its handpainted truffle boxes (above) now that it has moved into its new factory in Ballinskelligs. These are exquisitely crafted, and can only be ordered from the website, skelligschocolate.com(€22.50). Once the truffles have disappeared, you'll still have a useful pen holder or trinket box.
While not strictly an Easter product, I can’t imagine anyone would be less than delighted with the gift of an award-winning chocolate biscuit cake from The Tipperary Kitchen, which comes in milk and dark Belgian chocolate varieties (€4.99) as well as handy tubs. It is handmade in the village of Holycross by Ann Marie Walsh and her husband, Brian, who began by supplying baked goods to their village shop and have now expanded to employ seven people in their bakery.
They've managed to get their chocolate biscuit cakes on the shelves of Fortnum Mason in London – and you can buy them in lots of places in Tipperary, Limerick, Cork and Waterford – but they are are still looking for a Dublin stockist/distributor. See thetipperarykitchen.ie.
Cork cocoa connoisseurs
You’ll find a fantastic selection of really top-notch international brands at The Chocolate Shop in the English Market in Cork. The Michel Cluizel Noir Amandes egg pictured above comes with chocolates stashed inside it and costs €29.
Proprietors Niall and Rosemary Daly report great interest in the new flavoured bars from Willie Harcourt Cooze (€2.50), which come in varieties such as Sierra Leone 70 per cent with ginger and lime, and Cuban 65 per cent with honey and orange. They stock just about all of the top names in quality chocolate, including Cluizel, Amedei, Valrhona, Domori and Pralus. Orders can be placed online at chocolate.ieand delivery costs €5 to anywhere in Ireland (free for orders over €50).
Book your golden ticket . . . for a chocolate factory tour
Bigger isn’t always better, but the popularity of the Butlers Chocolate Experience, which combines a factory visit with a chance to try your hand at being a chocolatier, has encouraged the company to expand the scope and scale of the project. The revamped visitor centre in Clonshaugh, Co Dublin, which reopens on Monday, can now accommodate groups of up to 50, and the onsite Chocolate Cafe has also been extended to cope with bigger groups. The tour now includes a film screening and an interactive museum exhibit, which explain the origins and history of chocolate, as well as the factory-floor visit and a chocolate novelty decorating session. You get to take home your handiwork, and the cost of the visit is €12.50. Family rates start at €45. Tours must be booked in advance, tel: 01-6710599 or email experience@butlers.ie. Birthday parties and school tours are welcome.
Nicole Dunphy uses real egg shells to make these praline-filled beauties, available from stockists including Morton’s, Ranelagh; Donnybrook Fair; Cornstore, Limerick; McCambridges and Morton’s, Galway (from €10.95)
First, catch your bunny
Cadbury is supporting 20 Easter Egg Trails at venues all over Ireland, from Birr Castle to Croke Park. The winners were chosen from dozens of entries who applied to host events, and you can find the one nearest to you at facebook.com/cadburyireland.
Harvey Nichols in Dundrum Town Centre is also staging an Easter Egg Hunt which you can enter by visiting the food market any time between tomorrow and next Saturday. To enter, you’ll have to spot the Easter baskets hidden in the shop, note the letters contained in each and rearrange them to reveal the code word. Entry is free – and you’ll also be given a free hot chocolate for your efforts. There are five Pandora Bell confectionery baskets and an Easter hamper worth €100 for the winners.
If you’re planning your own Easter egg hunt, these lovely felt egg baskets from Tesco (above) are just €2.80 each, and you can also pick up a Tesco Easter egg hunt kit for €4.
Good tempered chocolates
Montacer "Monty" Mansour has joined ely restaurants from the Salty Dog in Bangor, having previously worked with Michael Deane in Belfast for 11 years. Mansour's Sachertorte with honey and chocolate ganache is a favourite at ely bar brasserie in the IFSC, and he is also garnering a reputation for his delicate handmade chocolates, including salt butter caramels and peanut butter truffles. His desserts will be on the menu at all three Dublin branches. He will be sharing the secrets of chocolate making at an Easter Chocolate Delights demonstration evening next Tuesday, April 3rd. It will will cover chocolate production, varieties and brands, as well as tempering techniques, and making Easter eggs and filled chocolates. The class starts at 7pm and costs €45. See elywinebar.com; tel: 01-6787867.
