Wee Birdy

Wee Valentine’s finds: The chocolate

My tip for V-Day this year? Head to Melt in Notting Hill for a line-up of chocolate treats that are quite simply some of the best you’ll find in London.

 

I’m a fan of their award-winning sea-salted caramels, but for Feb 14 I'm loving the sound of Melt’s Message in a Heart (£19.50), which allows you to hide a secret note inside one of their premium dark chocolate hearts. But then again, I’m just about swooning over the sound of dark chocolate twigs decorated with rose-scented sugar petals (Rose Matchsticks, £15). Oh my…

Melt
59 Ledbury Road
London W11 2AA
Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm
Sunday 11am-4pm

For more chocolates and sweets in London, click here.

Top 10 London gifts for under £10

In the first of my series of Christmas gift lists, I've found all manner of goodies from London for under a tenner. And with all of them available to purchase online, those birdies from outside of London can buy up, too.


1. Freedom SteamCream, £9.95, from Liberty
London’s number one cult beauty buy this Christmas, SteamCream uses steam-infused technology to create an ultra-light but deeply moisturising cream that can be used on face, hands and body. It’s made in the UK using oatmeal, orange flower water and soothing lavender oil. I dig the gorgeous collectable tin designs. Thanks to Cult Beauty blog and British Beauty Blogger for the tip.

2. Panama silver pencil, £7, from Smythson
For those who love their luxury brands, a stunning slim silver pencil from London heritage brand Smythson is an excellent gift for birdies on a budget. There’s also a lovely gilt version for £9, with lead refills from around £2. Thanks to the super-sharp Consume team at Time Out London who put me on to these little beauties.

3. Trafalgar Shaving Cream, £9.50, from Truefitt and Hill
For a wallet-friendly gift that comes with a royal warrant (that would be HRH The Duke of Edinburgh), look no further than Truefitt and Hill’s Trafalgar Shaving Cream. Established in London in 1805, Truefitt and Hill has over 200 years of expertise in grooming products and services, and their glycerine-based shaving cream makes a fine gift for the discerning gentleman.


4. Charbonnel et Walker Marc De Champagne Truffles, £10, from Liberty
With a sublime Champagne and butter ganache centre, Charbonnel et Walker’s Champagne truffles are the ultimate in Christmas chocolate decadence. I’ve been known to get stuck in first thing on Christmas morning – naughty (but oh so nice)! Established in 1875, Charbonnel et Walker is one of Britain’s oldest chocolate makers, and have also earned the Queen’s stamp of approval with a Royal Warrant.

5. Lavender vanilla lip balm, £4.50, from Content Beauty/Wellbeing
A glorious vintage-inspired tin of certified organic lip goodness is a snip at £4.50 from London’s luxury organic beauty boutique. It’s a dream to use with no artificial preservatives, and the pretty tin can be used afterwards to store hair clips and pins.


6. Liberty print handkerchief, £4.95 for one, from Liberty
If a Liberty silk scarf is way beyond your budget this Christmas, consider a pretty Liberty print handkerchief in super-soft Tana Lawn cotton instead. There are crochet-edged handkerchiefs for £5.95, and a pack of three for £19.95 (pictured above). I also like slipping them inside birthday cards to girlfriends back in Australia.

 

7. Rose Water, £7.80, from Neal’s Yard
A lovely old-fashioned beauty gift from legendary London apothecary Neal’s Yard Remedies, this handsome bottle of rose water has a faintly-retro sweet rose scent. Working as a toner to refresh the skin, it also removes final traces of make-up after cleansing.

 

8. Fortmason Tea, £8.25, from Fortnum and Mason
As London’s finest connoisseurs of tea, Fortnum and Mason is a good place to start for affordable Christmas presents. With a blend of Indian and China tea, the classic Fortmason Tea is scented with orange blossom for a deliciously fragrant cuppa. The gorgeous tea caddy can also be re-filled after use.

 

9. London Classic Mug, £7, from Cath Kidston
The new London print by Cath Kidston is inspired by vintage souvenir prints, and makes a very sweet mug design. Perfect affordable gift for Cath Kidston and London fans alike.

10. Archive poster, £7.78, from The London Transport Museum
With an archive of over 5,000 posters and 700 original poster artworks, prices at the London Transport Museum start at £7.78 for an A4 print. Search by decade, artist or keyword, and find the perfect gift for your favourite Londoner. This poster of the Tower of London (pictured above) is from 1956 by Hans Unger.

Shopping in London: Paul A. Young

Paul A. Young is one of London’s leading chocolatiers, with his City shop winning Best New Chocolate Shop in this year’s Academy of Chocolate awards. His 20 years’ experience as a high-profile chef, patissiere and chocolatier reflects his sophisticated understanding of the subtle intricacies of flavour and texture. This has led to the creation of best-sellers like port and stilton truffles and Marmite ganaches. No wonder he’s regularly referred to as the Heston Blumenthal of chocolate. His range is free from preservatives and additives, using only the finest chocolate including Valrhona, Michel Cluizel and Amadei.

Paul is incredibly hands-on and on any day you’ll find him beavering away at either one of his two chocolate boutiques, located in Islington and Bank. With ginger hair and an affable Northern demeanour, he’s not hard to miss. At his boutique in Bank, right in the heart of the City’s financial district, I find him upbeat and positive about the outlook for business. History shows that chocolate sales, like lipstick, actually boom during times of economic depression. People will treat themselves to fine chocolate because it’s a small, affordable luxury.

The shop itself is part of the Royal Exchange, and the location is steeped in London’s incredible 1000 year history. Fragments of Roman stucco, lamps and coins found on the site reveal that it was the centre of Roman Londinium. The shop itself dates back to the Victorian period, when it was a chemist. All of the original features remain, including handsome marble bench tops, wooden shelves and cabinets. Paul takes me on a behind-the-scenes tour of the shop, including the fully customised basement kitchen, where all his fresh, hand-made chocolates are made every day.

Upstairs, Paul’s collection of loose chocolates are displayed like glittering jewels, which is a comparison that isn’t far removed from the truth, considering that edible platinum and gold leaf can be found amongst the ingredients. Single pieces start at £1.75, going up to £50 for a hand-picked box of 40. His house collection includes the silver award-winning raspberry ganache and gold award-winning sea salted caramel, with stock constantly updated, so there’s always an element of surprise. On my visit there's a London Pride Ale truffle and a Winter Pimms ganache with apple and ginger.

Then there’s his signature chocolate brownies, which are extra-gooey, with a fudgey (rather than cakey) consistency. You know they’re good because they specifically lack that gritty saccharine-sweetness of lesser versions. They’re also big – and rich – enough to cut into quarters, so they can shared (or not) back at the office, making the £2.95 price point stretch even further.

The hot chocolate is also a best-seller, made Aztec-style using 100 per cent cocoa and hot water instead of milk. The £2.95 rich concoction is a warming winter drink, with a choice of spices such as ginger, smokey cardamom and two different types of chilli. So good, it's my new favourite London beverage. And that's saying a lot.

Paul A. Young
20 Royal Exchange
Threadneedle Street
London EC3V 3LP
Tel. 020 7929 7007
Nearest tube: Bank
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Wednesday 10am - 6:30pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 6:30pm

The Islington boutique can be found at:
33 Camden Passage
London N1 8EA
Tel. 020 7424 5750
Nearest tube: Angel
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Wednesday and Thursday 11am - 6pm
Friday 11am - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm
Sunday 12 - 5pm

Like I need an excuse to eat chocolate...

It's Chocolate Week (funny, I always thought that was Easter...) and to celebrate, London's finest chocolate retailers, restaurants and hotels are offering a host of cocoa-flavoured events, freebies and special offers. Here are my picks of the week featuring London's top chocolatiers:

Meet the chocolatier - Marc Demarquette
16/10/2008
Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London
4-5pm, Free tastings

Tea & chocolate tasting with William Curley and John Kennedy at Teasmith
16/10/2008   
6 Lamb Street, Spitalfields, E1 6EA
7-9pm, £50 per person (call to book)

Dessert evening at William Curley
18/10/2008
10 Paved Court, Richmond, TW9 1LZ
7-9pm, £50 per person (call to book) 

Chocolate and whisky tasting at Paul A. Young
18/10/2008
33 Camden Passage, Islington, N1 8EA
7-9.30pm, £45 per person plus goody bag (call to book)

Photography courtesy of William Curley.

*** I will be posting a new London shop tour later today ... behind the scenes at award-winning chocolatier, Paul A.Young's stunning City shop***

Best of British week: Hope and Greenwood

Lollies, toffees and bon bons – oh my! If you thought I was done with British childhood nostalgia, you’d be wrong. Big time.

It’s a cold and icy Thursday morning in Covent Garden this week that finds me trudging towards Hope and Greenwood’s pillarbox red front door. Everyone is feeling the effects of London’s extended frigid weather. The Big Issue bloke outside the Tube shouts to nobody in particular, “Get yer Big Issue, yer bunch of tight, miserable sods.”

But then the front door bell tinkles and a rush of warm air and ‘40s show tunes greets me as I step over the welcoming threshold into the most charming old-fashioned sweet shop emporium. It’s ridiculously gorgeous, with row upon row of shiny glass jars filled with sugary delights and colourful bunting catching my eye at every turn. The store is straight out of my childhood dreams fuelled by Blyton-esque boarding school tales of tuck boxes crammed with delicious treats and illicit midnight feasts.

The genuine loving care and consideration that has gone into decorating the shop and fulfilling a certain British vintage aesthetic from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s is obvious. For example, the handsome green enamel pendant lamps that hang over the front counter are from the old Rover factory in the Midlands, while said glass counter was sourced by Mr Greenwood from an old haberdashery shop in Wales.

Elsewhere, a vintage kitchen dresser is packed with Hope and Greenwood’s exclusive range of chocolates and sweets, and an old stepladder serves to display a range of liquorice allsorts, Catherine Wheels and sugar pigs. Other sweet treats are tucked into painted wooden crates and old Hovis tins, while slabs of fudge and chocolate truffles are piled on footed cake stands with glass bell jars.

Miss Anita (all the staff at H&G are known as either Miss or Mr) greets me warmly from behind the marble-top counter, and displays a superb knowledge of H&G’s confectionery as she takes me through the glorious selection of truffles (£5 per 100g). Hope and Greenwood’s handmade British chocolates are one of the considerable main attractions, with a delectable line-up including Champagne Charlies, Lime Creams and Bitter Raspberry truffles.

The 120-strong pick and mix selection is also a major drawcard, which includes childhood favourites like apple whips, giant gobstoppers, Anglo Bubble gum, Fruit Salad chews, Black Jacks, Mojos and Parma Violets.

Adding to the overall sense of nostalgia, there’s also a choice selection of vintage items, including packets of vintage ric ric, pretty chocolate tins, children’s annuals, Ladybird books and egg cups.

While the Covent Garden shop is a relative newcomer to the area, Hope and Greenwood are an established name in British confectionery. The brand is stocked at the likes of Selfridges and The Conran Shop, and South London families have been visiting the East Dulwich shop for years.

There’s so much to take in, and I find as I busily scribble notes that every time I turn around I find something new. And that’s the point. Hope and Greenwood delights in packing in sweet details and taking you by surprise. Clutching a red and white striped bag of Lemon Creams and Kir Royale truffles, I head out to blustery Russell Street with a definite spring in my step (and a copy of the latest Big Issue tucked under my arm).


Hope and Greenwood
1 Russell Street
London WC2 B SJB
Tel. 020 7240 3314

Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10.30am -7.30pm
Sunday 12 midday - 7.30pm

Nearest tube: Covent Garden
Click here for more shops in West London.