Magic food

Discovered this little shop in Loughborough the other day, Chocolate Alchemy.  It's tucked away in the Churchgate Mews, and a friend mentioned it to me. Always a fan of chocolate, I went to have a nosy.

Oh My Gosh.

You go inside and it's your classic classy teashop, nice tables and a smiley dark-haired gentleman behind the counter.  Turns out his name is Pete Gardner, and not only does he own the place, he makes all the chocolates by hand, himself.  Anyone who's ever seen the film Chocolat will understand the appeal of this instantly.  There are variety boxes and collections arranged around the walls, alongside packs of cocoa beans and the shop smells wonderful.  Not all the flavours are things you would expect, there are some odd combinations in there including herbs and chilis for the more adventurous.  The chocolates themselves can also be bought individually from the counter and they are beautiful.  I spent 5 mins simply staring at them and I cannot fathom how one person can make such delicate objects by hand.  They are neat, professional and artistic to look at, and also wonderful to eat!

So I'll be making lots of trips to Chocolate Alchemy in the future.  I plan to road test every single one of these little gems :)

But hey, don't take me word for it  These guys will back me up:

This is Loughborough

Carla Mundy (the owner of these lovely photos)