The Story of Hotel Chocolat
The Story of Hotel Chocolat
The story so far…
British entrepreneurs, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris embarked upon their Hotel Chocolat journey about 20 years ago. The business grew from an award-winning website to the launch of our first retail store in 2004. We are turning heads by offering something completely different and original – deeply authentic chocolate with a witty, fashionable edge.
HOTEL CHOCOLAT'S secret ingredients…
1. INNOVATION
A spirit of innovation and creativity permeates the company. Our look is influenced by the London fashion scene and our concepts born through a desire to make people happy through gift giving and interaction with those they love.
2. AUTHENTICITY
Real chocolate needs real ingredients and Hotel Chocolat is pioneering a 'less sugar, more cocoa' approach to recipes, allowing the true flavours to shine through – particularly noticeable in our signature high cocoa milk chocolates. Our unique status as a cocoa grower as well as a chocolatier provides us with unmatched insight, an engaging story and some of the world's rarest cocoa with which to work.
3. ETHICS
There is a huge disparity between those who enjoy fine chocolate and the subsistence cocoa growers who nurture the beans. So we wanted
to do something to make a difference. We are extremely proud that for 8 years now, our own Engaged Ethics program has been delivering sustainable benefits to cocoa communities in Saint Lucia and Ghana. And the story continues with a slew of exciting new projects…
– At London's Borough Market, we opened a cacao cuisine street food café, serving authentic cocoa tea, savoury and sweet cacao wraps and a range of Rabot Estate small batch chocolates (April 2010). For opening times, menu and directions - therabotestate.com
– We launched the world's first Chocolate Bond, with the 'interest' paid in monthly chocolate. Members of our Chocolate Tasting Club responded enthusiastically, raising £4m to help fund our initiatives in the UK, US and Saint Lucia. (June 2010)
– The Boucan restaurant is now open on our cocoa estate in Saint Lucia – a full dining experience centred around an innovative, light and healthy cacao cuisine menu, with a view to die for (February 2011). Explore the menu - thehotelchocolat.com/boucan
– Our first New York state store opened at Roosevelt Fields in November 2011, joining Newbury Street, Boston, which has been open since summer 2009 and has gained a loyal following. For addresses and opening times - hotelchocolat.com
– Our plantation chic hotel is fully open with 14 guest Pods from December 2011. Pictures, rates and packages at - thehotelchocolat.com
– We acquired The Delcer Estate, a second plantation in Saint Lucia on which we will grow rare cocoa gene types within our Engaged Ethics program. History repeated itself as, yet again, it was a customer who made it happen for us. Gina Griffiths' family have owned the estate since the 1930s and she approached us having got to know us through our chocolate and from watching our progress at Rabot Estate.
– 'London Roast & Conch' is our venue for small batch bean roasting and chocolate making. Situated in Monmouth Street in Seven Dials, Covent Garden we serve a groundbreaking new range of unique cocoa drinks with all the refreshing vitality of coffee. It's a place to savour the aromas of freshly roasting cocoa and sample the cacao cuisine menu. Open December 2012.
And the story continues… powered by chocolate and the amazing support of our fabulous customers!
