Birds of a Feather

The hotel we are staying in serves breakfast next to a beautiful pond. The fish dance beneath and the swans sail gracefully across the surface.



Each morning we are delighted with the different sights…

Duck!!

Ok, not actually a duck, looks more like a goose but who knows (must remember to ask hotel staff).
I think he/she must have had an itch of some kind because they were preening and rolling around in the water for ages.



Here is the same bird in a more graceful pose.

Black and White

Two swans performing synchronised swimming manoeuvres. Can’t say I have seen a black swan before.



And I have no idea what this swan is doing, but shouldn’t those legs be padding like mad under the water?



Now if you’ll excuse me I need to order another waffle.

It’s Still a Tough Job…More Tales of Hardship.

Earlier this year I documented here the arduous task of sampling various brands of chilli chocolate.

Throughout the year I have been keeping an eye out for more chilli chocolate and selflessly sampling the wares that I find.

Here are some of the chocolates that have crossed my palette.

Fiery…or not.

Staring at me from my timeline last week on twitter was a picture of chilli chocolate from Thorntons. Of course, passing the shop yesterday and the 3 for £5 pound offer, how could I resist…..

This is a dark chocolate and does taste nice, but the Thorntons is a light weight amongst the chilli chocolates. If you’re wanting afterburn and a strong heat then this is not the one for you.

Chocolat

Fellow chilli chocolate lover and all round class act @TheFlossieTP was kind enough to give me some Hotel Chocolat Chilli Pralines (thank you, thank you, thank you!).

Top marks here for presentation, the photo is poor but if you look carefully you will see bits of chilli poking out of the chocolate. A nice touch!

Sadly, despite these being very delicious (gone in 60 seconds) the heat was a little too subtle for my tastes.

Sexy!

The things I do in the name of research!

On a recent visit to Edinburgh we went to the Real Foods shop not looking for chilli chocolate but finding it in abundance.

One of the most notable bars was the Sexy one. How could anyone resist such blatant marketing?

The chilli side of this worked very well. It had the perfect afterburn experience, kicking in a good 30 seconds after you start eating it. Sadly the chocolate taste didn’t do it for me. A little too smooth and milky for my taste but still a commendable product. And boy what great packaging!

Montezuma Strikes Again

Finally another Montezuma’s bar. These people really do know how to make great chocolate.

Their Dark Chocolate with Chilli came out on top in my last roundup and this Milk Chocolate & Chilli wins hands down this time too.

This is a milk chocolate bar, like the Sexy one, but the addition of the lime really does make a huge difference.

It is soft and smooth, and the chocolate, chilli and lime all merge together to caress your taste buds.

Very, very nice.

The End

That’s the lot for now, but you can sleep soundly at night with the knowledge that someone out there is tirelessly working to ensure no chilli chocolate is left un-tasted!