Vintage Buttons (Hotel Chocolat)

When someone says chocolate buttons it is hard to picture anything but the plainest looking chocolate discs. Chocolate buttons are not usually about their design, they are just about easy to eat chocolate pieces.
Hotel Chocolate have decided to think outside the box with their chocolate buttons and have done things a little differently. They have actually researched the appearance of classic clothing buttons from the 1700s onwards, and moulded milk chocolate into the classic shapes. I think it is impossible not to smile when you open the box and see these diverse and beautiful chunky choccies. The level of detail on each one is impressive, and all are different.
The chocolate itself is firm, but gives pleasingly when bitten. The flavour is sweet with a lovely easy going creamy taste. There is plenty of cocoa and the rich chocolate flavours just melt on the tongue. It is obviously a good quality chocolate, but it is the clever idea behind the product that would make these the perfect gift, or an indulgent treat.

Chocolate Swerves [Pretzels] (The Big Yum: www.TheBigYum.com)

This is a straightforward idea for a product, but one that really caught my eye, take a pretzel and add chocolate. I am a firm believer in the concept of certain savoury flavours working well with chocolate. I honestly cannot believe that we in the UK don’t have many (or indeed any?) chocolate and peanut butter bars, for example.
Consequently the idea of combining savoury salty pretzels with chocolate sounded like genius to me. These Chocolate Swerves come in a large sharing bag, and each pretzel is prettily decorated with a striped milk and white chocolate, and they do look very attractive. The chocolate is mainly milky and sweet but it does the job. The pretzels underneath have a lovely crunch and add a decent hit of saltiness and biscuit. The combination of these two main ingredients just works wonderfully well. The sweet and salt make a ridiculously moreish combination, and you suddenly realise that huge sharing bag just isn’t quite big enough!
This product may consist of a simple idea, but it is one that has been beautifully executed. Well worth seeking out, and I hope to see some major stockists appearing for them very soon.

Magnum - Temptation Chocolate (Ocado) [By @NLI10]

I was awoken today by the sound of heavy rain - signalling that summer in the UK is well and truly on its way out. I had a lovely day at a local festival on Friday in the sun, but the weather ahead seems grey and gloomy.
So what better time to review ice-creams! While I was in London there were lots of adverts on the tube system for Walls Ice-creams new Magnum. As this is already their premium range and this was billed as a premium addition I thought that it would be a lovely holiday treat. I completely failed to find any though - none of the tourist shops or the Tesco Metro had any in stock.
On returning I happened to spot these on my final free Ocado delivery and added them to the basket. On arrival the packaging and experience is far more like the unboxing of a new iPod than having a quick snack. There are three individual silver boxes in the thick crisp cellophane outer and each of these is individually sealed so that the box springs open. Inside the little reflective box is an infinity shaped ice-cream on its own small protective raft. Despite online shopping for these none were even cracked upon arrival.
The bar itself is really 3D. The shape is not flat on the two main sides and is quite an unusual thing to behold. Once you bite into the slightly thicker than usual, rich dark chocolate the ice-cream inside is full of other things. There are milk, dark, and white chocolate pieces, a layer of thin cake running down the centre which seems to be infused with something and to top it all off a rich chocolate ice-cream holds it all together. And if anyone from Walls is reading I’d love a deluxe white choc version with berries in for next year please.
Like the Gu range this is a restaurant quality desert, and serving this little sarcophagus of joy at a dinner party would see you being compared with Heston Blumenthal's crazy dinners. Unlike most cold deserts I can see me secretly hiding a box of these in the freezer and getting them out in December for my fiance and I to eat in front of a roaring fire.

By @NLi10

Penn State Spicy Jalfrezi Baked Deli Chips [By Spectre] (Waitrose)

I am a fan of brands that pretend to be from some far off place or another, and yet when you check where they were made it's just not where you thought it would be. These Jalfrezi crisps are no exception to the rule. Penn State chips (crisps) have a definite American feel to their packet design, from the black coloured packet down to the dead straight typeface and star in the logo. Indeed "Penn State" is the nickname for Pennsylvania State University in the USA. Penn State is mostly famous for its flavoured pretzels, which their website proudly states are the leading brand of pretzels in the UK and the finest on the market. Intersnack Limited manufactures these pretzels in County Durham, just outside Newcastle upon Tyne. Unfortunately for them I'm not a big pretzel fan, but I do like crisps. They call their crisps "chips", now how American is that? Spicy Jalfrezi doesn't sound like an American flavour though. Opening the packet I was first hit by the shear spice in the smell. Pow! Right in the kisser! Attempting to get my sight back after the odour, I tried to focus through blurred vision on something close by. I gazed at the packet and realised I didn't have a bowl to hand to meet their helpful serving suggestion. Instead I poured the large square flat chips (crisps) out into my lunch box. The crisps (chips) have a strong crunch to them, with their Jalfrezi spice and the large number of them, I was first worried that my mouth would dry up pretty quickly. I didn't have to worry though as these are no Snack A Jacks, but strongly spiced chips (crisps) that whet or wet the appetite. They have a moreish quality, leaving a lovely heat in the mouth and on the lips. The heat in these crisps (chips) make you want to keep eating, but not out of fear that if you stop you'll burn up like a Roman Candle or your head will explode in a ball of incandescent flames, but more out of the pleasure of the sensation. These chips (crisps) made me want to like pretzels. These crisps (chips) made me want to munch every one of Penn State's pretzel flavours. Having said that, I'll settle for their Sizzling Teriyaki chips (cri.... okay, okay... I'll stop). Penn State website has a very helpful flavour availability locater and I found that the Sizzling Teriyaki flavour is available in both Waitrose and Morrisons! I'll put on my pants (trousers), get my coat (er... jacket?), buy lots of chips (you know...) and bring them home in my trunk (hah... boot)!

By Spectre

Win Beanatural Jelly Belly Beans!

In my last post I told you all about the wonderful new Beanaturals from Jelly Belly, but now I’m pleased to say I can give you the opportunity to win some of your very own!

To enter all you have to do is email me with the answer to the following question:

Which one of the twenty flavours of Beanatural are you most looking forward to trying?

The email address to send your answer to is: admin@foodstufffinds.co.uk and mark the subject line ‘Comp’

Good luck everyone!

Terms/Conditions
• Any personal data will only be used for processing of this competition.
• Two winners will be chosen at random from the answers, each winning a sharing bag and a small box of Jelly Belly Beanatural beans.
• UK/Europe residents only.
• Competition closes 8pm on 18th September 2010.
• If I can’t get in touch with the winner in a reasonable amount of time to obtain an address another winner will be selected.
• If you have any questions about this competition, please send me an email or leave a comment below.