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One of the undeniable benefits of writing about food products is getting to taste them so it was of great amusement when a box of 'Erotique' chocolates showed up on my desk. Hand-crafted from luxury Venezuelan chocolate with a cocoa solid percentage of 70%, the chocolates sound heaven-sent...until you see how they're shaped. I wouldn't class myself as a prude, but I thought chocolates shaped as intimate body parts were confined to Ann Summers-themed events and raucous hen parties. It appears not. These high-end chocolates start out at a meagre £25 for one 150g portion and are billed as the 'ideal gift to give and receive'. Make of that what you will. |
Offerings include the Venus - 'a stunning reproduction of the female body' and Adonis - 'a torso to rival David's' - gilded with 22 carat gold and filled with Champagne ganache. Other delights include the Phallic Delight, Chocolate Pout - strawberry ganache filled chocolate lips - and a collection of chocolate stilettos featuring leopard skin, rose petal and pom-pom designs.
So where do these naughty chocolates come from? The Erotique Collection is the brain-child of former Claridge's head pastry chef Phil Neal. After living with an obsession for chocolate for 28 years, he opened Theobroma Cacao - 'the chocolate lovers' paradise' - in Chiswick in 1999. Such was the success of his chocolate shop, Neal now also sells a selection of chocolate drinks and coffees for customers to sit in and enjoy.
But if, like me, you find the whole erotic chocolate idea a bit of a turn off, Theobroma Cacao also offers a more conventional selection of luxury truffles, figurines and simple chocolate bars. Thank god for that!
