The competition has now closed. Congratulations to the winner Alison, and the winning entry -“This is what the judges have been searching for….this chocolate DEFINITELY has the X-factor!” 

The X-Factor girls enjoyed a chocolate tasting adventure at our hotel’s Boucan Restaurant during their recent stay in Saint Lucia. We snapped this photograph on set and are giving away a Beauty Box for the funniest caption. Simply enter by leaving a comment on this blog post.

* Terms and Conditions – All entries must be received by midnight Thursday 4th October 2012. The prize of one luxurious Beauty Box worth £50 will be awarded to one entry chosen by the Hotel Chocolat judges. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prize must be accepted as offered and cannot be substituted for another ‘gift’ or cash. The winner will be notified by comment reply and announced on the blog post on Saturday 6th October 2012. No purchase necessary. Entrants must be UK residents at least 16 years of age. Sorry! Competition not open to Hotel Chocolat employees, their families, any partner running this promotion or affiliated companies, their employees or their families.

Since starting at Hotel Chocolat 18 months ago, I’ve been working alongside Angus on our new hotel in Saint Lucia.  From sourcing everything from crockery and glasses to bed linen and toiletries, I already felt that I knew the hotel inside and out, despite never even having been to the Caribbean!  So, when Angus suggested that I go out there last month I obviously jumped at the chance! 

The hotel is in the soft opening stage, with 6 of our Cocoa Pods ready and 8 Cocoa Pods Luxe still being completed, so it was a pretty exciting stage to see the hotel (I will be hinting for a return trip once it’s complete).

I went out with David Demaison, our Cacao Cuisine Development Chef, who created the menu at Boucan, the hotel’s restaurant, and we arrived to a very warm welcome from Estates Director, Phil Buckley, his wife, Judy, and the Saint Lucian team – as well as a Cacao Bellini, which was amazing. 

The hotel beat all my expectations, in the middle of our cocoa plantation, the surroundings are stunning and the Boucan restaurant has views to die for. 

The view of the Hotel

The bedrooms are ‘Plantation Chic’ with the most amazing open sky showers – adding to the whole feeling of being at one with nature.  There are too many highlights to write here, but I think one that really stood out (apart from the black quartz infinity pool which is very special), was the opportunity to take part in the Tree-to-Bar experience.  This is a half day tour where guests can spend some time in our cacao nurseries, where we are grafting cocoa, followed by the chance to graft your own cocoa tree (I definitely need to come back in two years to see it bearing cocoa!) then to the kitchen to make fresh chocolate! 

Grafting a baby Cocoa tree

A chocolate lesson with David

It really brought to life how much hard work and passion goes into growing cacao both on our estate and on the farms of our Engaged Ethics farmers.  It made me very proud to see what an impact we’re having on the local farmers in reviving their interest in cocoa farming. 

Cocoa beans drying in the sun

Despite eating Boucan’s cacao cuisine every evening, I certainly did not bore of the menu and, in fact, I left feeling much healthier and truly revived (nothing to do with being dragged on walks around our 140 acre Estate every morning…).  The whole trip was an experience never to forget!

Boucan Cuisine

The quest for the ultimate Mojito continues…

When I was last propping up the bar at our Bar Boucan at Rabot Estate (April), I felt the Mojito recipe needed a bit of tweaking. Last night I experimented at home in Hertfordshire using the fresh mint I grow, a new bottle of Mount Gay and some fresh limes. I prefer to use golden rum rather than white rum as I think the flavour is deeper and more rounded.

Here is the final recipe which my wife really liked and she has tasted a few!

Bar Boucan Mojito (proposed)

INGREDIENTS, PER GLASS

-          Thick glass tumbler (so it can take the muddling)

-          8 mint leaves

-          25ml lime juice

-          1 teaspoon honey

-          50ml Mount Gay Eclipse golden rum

-          50ml soda water

-          crushed ice

PREP

-          put the mint, honey, lime juice into glass

-          muddle vigorously to allow the mint oils to be released

-          fill glass 80% full of crushed ice

-          add the rum, stir, then top up with soda, stir again then taste

-          the intensity of fresh limes varies a lot, so make any final adjustments, then serve!

Now this recipe has to be translated, taking into account the variables in Saint Lucia, which are

-          more powerful mint, may have to reduce the leaf count

-          Chairman’s Reserve Rum instead of Mount Gay, shouldn’t be a problem as it is a very nice rum as well

Our dedicated Mojito mint bed at the kitchen herb garden. We worked with local herbalist Marijke to set up the herb garden for the restaurant and it is now fully in operation, providing large crops of amazing basil, chives, oregano and more.

It’s a pretty serious herb garden, I love walking around it!

Ronnie making the Mojitos

The Finished Mojito

Next step is to compare this mojito recipe with the current version and see which is best. Will keep you posted…

On the way to Portugal’s Douro Valley to meet winemaker Pedro Pocas. Looking forward to walking through the old vines on his stunning estate set amongst the terraced slopes of this corner of northern Portugal. My travelling companions are Gabriela Pereira, one of our Product Developers and a native Portugese speaker, and my brother Simon who is our copywriter and coming along to record The Quest.

Our aim is to find the ultimate Tawny Port to partner after dinner chocolate tasting. If we succeed in finding the right port, we will have it bottled ready for launch in the winter.

Three years ago we bottled our first vintage of Chateau Chocolat, a complex red wine made from rare old vines and selected to partner our dark chocolate. We serve it in our Boucan restaurant and have it in most stores. It has grown quite a fan club and soon will be available by the case online. Time for a very special tawny port stable mate!

The success of our Boucan Restaurant has drawn the attention of Saint Lucia tourism Minster, Senator Allen Chastanet. He dropped by for a meal with me and Phil Buckley, parking his jeep with the keys in. Mid forkful, we watched in astonishment as our cacao cuisine development chef, David Demaison, got behind the wheel and drove away in the ministers car!

Thankfully he realised after a while that he had got into the wrong jeep when he spotted Senator Chastanet’s personal effects dotted around the car.

I have a lingering thought that he was trying to flee the island after 4 weeks chained to the kitchen, getting Boucan launched!

The cooling infinity pool is waiting, the cocktail list has been tested, the dishes have been tasted and the crisp bed linen has been pressed – the countdown is over and our boutique hotel on the island of Saint Lucia is now open! It’s a place dedicated to barefoot luxury in naturally relaxing surroundings with awe-inspiring views from 1,000 feet above sea level.

Situated in a courtyard around an old Shak-Shak tree, our Cocoa Cottages are designed with plenty of Hotel Chocolat’s contemporary style with a dash of West Indian charm.  Thoughtfully completed with luxurious finishing touches, they make a stylish and comfortable retreat. For a few of the best shots from around the Hotel and Boucan Restaurant take a look at the album on our Facebook page.

I am penning this from my favourite spot in the Boucan Bar, Saint Lucia. With only 5 days to go until the Hotel opens, the place is a hive of industry… Newly inducted staff in Hotel Chocolat uniforms are going through their paces, final dabs of paint, dwarf date palm trees being dropped into their slots, balancing adjustments being made to cocktails and Cocoa Cottages being triple checked before our first guests arrive.

The weather is gorgeous with the usual cooling breeze and dazzling blue skies.  The restaurant has been open for 3 weeks and there is a real air of confidence now in the kitchen and on the floor, thanks to the leadership and example set by hotel manager Chester Francois and executive chef Jon Bentham.

I will end here as I need to test out again the black quartz infinity edge swimming pool. The Piton is symmetrically reflected in its mirror surface… no accident according to Phil Buckley, designer/ builder/country head!

Enjoying the view of the Pitons from the infinity pool right now!

It’s been a long, long time in the planning, menu development, building and training but things of quality (I hope!) take time. Our brand new Cacao Cuisine venture is now serving… Perched high up between the Pitons at Rabot Estate (our Saint Lucian cocoa plantation), the cuisine draws on the amazing local fish and seafood, salad vegetables, fruits and herbs showered with rainforest rain and, of course, roasted and fresh estate cacao.

I have tasted all the dishes several times and am confident we have something good here. There really is nothing like the flavours of daily roasted cacao nibs – if they are not ultra fresh they seem to lose a lot of the subtle flavours our chefs have managed to bring alive.

Click here to see our Opening Menu.

Restaurant Opening Hours

Lunch 12-2.30 | Dinner 6.30-9.30 | Closed Monday and Tuesday

Reservations Information

Email: reservations@hotelchocolat.com

Address & Directions

Rabot Estate, Soufrière, Saint Lucia

Located two miles south of Soufrière, off the Soufrière to Choiseul main highway, entrance at the Rabot gap