For Maison François’s Matthew Ryle, M&S beats out a £52 Belgian holiday box.
(Bloomberg) — Celebrating Valentine’s Day comes at an increased cost this year. Despite dipping slightly, inflation in the UK is still at an eye-opening 10.5%, and it shows in high restaurant prices. A holiday meal for two from the River Cafe starts at £185 ($225) this year — and that’s a take away box.
In short: For the budget-minded, it’s a good year to forego a traditional restaurant dinner and consider celebrating with chocolates instead.
The problem for Valentine’s Day fans is the same as it is every year: an impossibly wide range of confections in the UK, ranging in price from a couple of pounds to fancy boxes that cost upwards of £100.
To help wade through the myriad bright red options, Bloomberg enlisted the help of rising star chef Matthew Ryle. His London restaurant, Maison François in St James, has been one of the hottest tickets in town since it opened in 2020. Ryle is an unapologetic chocolate fan; in fact, one of the best sellers at his restaurant is the luscious chocolate tart, wheeled to tables on an eye-catching dessert trolley.
In the name of Valentine’s Day harmony, Ryle blind tasted 11 chocolate brands. His rankings are based on the flavor of the chocolate as well as the packaging, which ranged from lackluster to flashy red velvet. Good news for those who are want to pull on heart strings while tightening purse strings: Some of the most affordable options were among the chef’s favorites. M&S ranked higher than the lauded Belgian brand, Neuhaus. Though it was a candy maker from Belgium, Pierre Marcolini, who grabbed the No. 1 spot.
Here, Ryle picks his favorite bonbons, from last place to best in show.
11. Venchi, Baroque Heart Gift BoxCost: £30 for 230 gm
At the bottom: Italian chocolatier Venchi, which sells individually wrapped chocolates in a golden, heart-shaped cardboard box.
Ryle was unimpressed with the look of the foil-wrapped candies, which had a mass market feel. While he thought the chocolate was decent quality, he found the overall taste of the ganache filled truffles, which come in both dark and milk, to be bitter and acidic.
10. Charbonnel et Walker, Red Velvet Decadence HeartCost: £40 for 260 gm
Though Ryle didn’t love the chocolates from this time-honored UK brand, he did appreciate the flamboyant box: a bright-red velvet heart, tied with a flouncy white ribbon, which got good marks for Valentine’s presentation. “I would probably buy that as a gift,” he said.
But the chef was critical of the contents, which include a mix of filled milk and dark chocolates. The texture of a solid bittersweet bonbon didn’t impress him: “It doesn’t have that super smooth mouthfeel.”
9. Cadbury Milk TrayCost: £4 for 360 gm
The Milk Tray, presented with a holiday themed wrap over the usual purple box, is good for fans of the British staple, and people looking for a gift for less than £5. The thin cardboard box is nothing to write home about, and neither is the chocolate. “It’s gritty and I can feel there are bits of sugar in there,” he said. “It’s fine, but it’s not very nice.”
8. Neuhaus, Valentine Timeless Masterpieces BallotinCost: £52 for 500 gm
Ryle judged the priciest box, from esteemed Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus, to be of a clear high-quality. It had a slightly acidic note, which for him balanced out the sweetness. And he appreciated the texture of the ganache-filled confection with its thin, crispy and crunchy shell. The packaging, however, was a disappointment, especially for the price: The mix of chocolate shapes are piled in a plain red-paper-covered cardboard box, which belies the price. “It looks like a dodgy deli box with Christmas wrapping,” he said.
7. Artisan du Chocolat, Made with LoveCost: £40 for 520 gm
This simple red-heart shaped box is from a luxury, Kent-based British brand that’s sold at Selfridges, among other places. It contains a whopping 53 truffles in flavors ranging from fruity passionfruit mango to salted caramel and sweet white chocolate. Ryle approved of the intense chocolatiness of the shell and the contrast to the dense filling: He didn’t love the cocoa coating on some of the chocolates which left a dry aftertaste.
6. Godiva, Valentine’s Day Heart BoxCost: £30 for 159 gm
The ubiquitous chocolate maker with the recognizable golden box is offering 13 ganache- and praline-filled pricey sweets. But the product is reliable, Ryle said. The good-quality, smooth-textured chocolates come in an array of shapes with fillings like hazelnut praline and coffee gananche. He gave a thumbs up to the flavor of a bittersweet selection: “A nice midpoint between super dark and milk,” he said.
5. M&S, Chocolates with LoveCost: £10 for 300 gm
The supermarket selection — a plain red heart-shaped box decorated with a smart pink and blue ribbon — has a simple impressive look, given its price point, judged Ryle. He liked the chocolate inside, a mix of white strawberry hearts, Marc de Champagne truffles and salted caramel truffles. His pick is the dark chocolate hearts with an almost creamy, vanilla-scented ganache center.
4. Melrose and Morgan , Pralines and GanacheCost: £28 for 200 gm
These chocolates, from the upmarket north London grocer, come in a rich green rectangular box with gold lettering, a relief for anyone who has seen enough bright-red hearts. The mixed selection of 18 truffles includes adventurous flavors like salted pistachio praline and rose-raspberry. Ryle was impressed by the sultry melt-in-your-mouth texture of the chocolate, though he found a milk chocolate bon bon too sweet. Overall, he’s a fan: “It’s one of those super moreish chocolates where you just want to eat the whole box.”
3. Butlers, Pink Truffle Selection BoxCost: £9 for 200 gm
Ryle approves of the chocolates in this reasonably-priced box from the Irish brand, which sells in places like Waitrose and Selfridges, with flavors like milk flake and caramel crunch. He liked the presentation of the truffles which look hand-dipped and finished, making their appearance, he says, “imperfect, but that makes it a little bit more perfect.” Ryle also liked the ratio of filling to chocolate. The dipping adds a double layer of chocolate on the outside. Unfortunately, the anonymous pink square box gave away their modest pricing, he said.
2. Hotel Chocolat, With Love H-Box£14.50 for 150 gm
These heart-shaped truffles from the ubiquitous UK chain are decorated in various shades of pink and red with an array of fillings like raspberry and peach, lemon curd and dark gianduja. The exceedingly smooth chocolate had nostalgic appeal for Ryle; it reminded him of the taste of a chocolate from a prized box at Christmas. The let down, for Valentine’s Day, was the anonymous box, that looks like someone forgot it was Valentine’s Day until they were on their way home.
1. Pierre Marcolini, Heart Box£17 for 64 gm
The all-around winner: the beautifully crafted confections from Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. Within the chic, heart-shaped tin are well made, sophisticated chocolates, like a heart of hazelnut praline with hazelnut shavings, a milk chocolate selection with yuzu and a while chocolate candy flavored gently with timut pepper. Ryle’s verdict: “A proper chocolate.”
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