Sanderson Hotel celebrates National Chocolate Week



National Chocolate Week

It’s National Chocolate Week! And if that’s not an excuse to put chocolate on  e v e r y t h i n g, I don’t know what is! To celebrate, my lovely friend invited me along to try a special menu at The Restaurant at Sanderson Hotel. William Curley, who has won Britain’s Best Chocolatier four times, teamed up with Executive Chef Barry Tonks to create a Chocolate Week Menu to honour the humble cocoa bean. Until the 21st of October they’re serving up a chocolate cocktail and four courses followed by chocolates. Oh, and two of the courses are desserts (obviously!). All this and the promise of great company, I couldn’t resist…

Sanderson Hotel Interiors

Sanderson Hotel is built around an open-air courtyard laid out as a lush Japanese garden. We settled into the outdoor enclosure under the stars rainclouds next to the courtyard garden. This place would be amazing on a winter’s day with blankets on the back of every chair, powerful heat lamps, and clear walls that can be opened to bring the outside in… or more likely closed to keep the weather out! The Philippe Starck interiors in the rest of the hotel are ultra modern and filled with little delights such as the iconic red lips sofa, and the Long Bar where all eyes are on you.

Cocktails

We started with an autumnal chocolate cocktail – Legends of the Fall. It was a warming mix of whiskey, white chocolate liqueur and orange bitters. Honestly, it tasted a bit like a white chocolate orange Baileys, which I am totally ok with!

Scallops

Our first course arrived consisting of Orkney scallops, squid ink polenta, and cocoa nibs, which gave a tart crispiness to the dish.

Venison

Followed by Venison from Suffolk with miso glazed parsnips and a cocoa dusting. The venison was delicious and tender, if a little on the rare side for my medium tastes. Make sure you specify how you’d like it cooked when ordering the Chocolate Week Menu as it just comes medium-rare!

Dessert

Every meal should end with two desserts, am I right? The first of these was a white chocolate and coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit compote. The creamy panna cotta and sharp fruity mixture was so good that I ignored my slight passionfruit allergy to eat it. ?

Then came a “warm Amedei Chocolate Moelleux with cherry compote and pistachio ice cream”. No, I had no idea what it was either… but it turned out to be a delicious molten chocolate cake.

Choc Til You Drop

Salted caramel chocolates were the final delight. They were delivered on what my tastebuds can confirm IS NOT a bed of white chocolate curls. If you still haven’t had your fill after all this, there are some more confectionary based experiences on at the Sanderson Hotel. The Agua Spa is offering an ‘Oh So Sweet’ chocolate back treatment using Cocoa extract and heated honey, with a cup of hot chocolate afterwards. Or you can stop by the William Curley Chocolate Shop off Sanderson’s lobby to stock up on his signature couture chocolates, and goodies based on our childhood favourites like Jaffa Cakes and Hazelnut Rochers.

You can enjoy the Chocolate Week Menu at the Sanderson Hotel until Sunday 21 October 2018. How are you celebrating chocolate week?