Hotel Chocolat enjoys a fantastic reputation in the world of luxury chocolate; revered by true chocoholics for the quality of their chocolate and the inventiveness of their delicious recipes. New chocolate creations are central to Hotel Chocolat’s ever-evolving seasonal ranges – eagerly anticipated by devotees throughout the year at Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas time, and perfect for gift-giving!

Over the last 15 years the company has steadily grown but has never deviated from its core philosophy of only using the finest ingredients to make the most wholesome and richly-flavoured luxury chocolate. This quest for the finest ingredients has taken founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris on quite a journey since they founded the company: Hotel Chocolat is now the only British chocolatier to have its own cocoa-growing estate.

With the acquisition of the dilapidated Rabot Estate on the Caribbean island of St Lucia in 2006, Hotel Chocolat became a cocoa grower in addition to chocolate maker. This gave the company the opportunity to cultivate of rare breeds of cocoa trees, whose fruit can be used to produce uniquely-flavoured luxury chocolate. The estate ownership affords the company first hand control over the quality of their raw materials, and gives Hotel Chocolat a base in St Lucia from which to deliver their ‘Engaged Ethics’ programme to assist cocoa farmers in the locale improve their livelihoods. Through this initiative, the company is involved in a number of similar sustainable development projects with their suppliers in other third world countries.

For the spring season, the Hotel Chocolat Easter gifts range is an annual treat. Naturally, the quintessential Easter gift of a chocolate egg is the central theme, with Easter eggs from ‘Ostrich’ down to ‘Quail’ sized!

A perennial classic is the extravagant ‘Ostrich Easter Egg’: available in both milk chocolate and dark chocolate versions, made from two huge shells containing a selection of luxury chocolates, and weighing in at almost 1.5 kg! Around this time of year, Mother’s Day gifts are also popular – with a selection of opulently-presented delicious chocolate gifts available: a perfect gift for pampering!