Just one glimpse at the chocolates in the Christmas 2019 range at Waitrose & Partners is all it took for me to know I wanted to buy it all! This beautiful collection of boxed chocolates all looks and sounds divine.
The range is headlined by two of Waitrose & Partner's key ranges - one in collaboration with experimental chef Heston Blumenthal, and the other related to the unexpected hit range of chocolate avocados.
In this article:
Heston from Waitrose Christmas Teapot
I've followed Heston Blumenthal's work for ages now, and love his unconventional take on gastronomy. I love his theatrical quirkiness and the creative misdirection of his work. His latest creation for Waitrose, The Chocolate Teapot (£20), is no exception.
The 320g set comes with a hollow milk chocolate teapot, cocoa nib tea leaves, and sugar cube chocolates. But as nothing is quite what it seems in Heston's world, those sugar cubes hide a surprise - they are in fact milk, white, and dark chocolate tea flavoured truffles coated in sugar.
Heston opted to blend black tea with ginger and dark chocolate, jasmine tea with white chocolate, and Earl Grey tea with mandarin and milk chocolate. They sound delicious, don't they?
Waitrose Christmas Avocado
Waitrose's chocolate avocado was a hit at Easter and is bound to experience similar success at Christmas. The Golden Christmas Avocado (£9) features a dark chocolate shell, blonde chocolate flesh, and a cocoa-dusted chocolate stone. A finish of light gold shimmer adds a touch of pizazz to this 250g gift.
While I think the Golden Christmas Avocado looks the part, I'm more drawn to the vividly bright colours of its diminutive sibling.
The Festive Trio of Chocolate Avocados (£5) feature three smaller chocolate avocados weighing in at 75g. Each features a dark chocolate avocado shaped shell, decorated with an orange, green, or pink coloured decoration. Each mini avocado is filled with either a salted caramel ganache, a milk chocolate ganache, or a gingerbread spiced ganache.
Waitrose Chocolate Fascinator
The Chocolate Fascinator (£30) looks more like a hat box, which is why the company is keen for you to repurpose and reuse the packaging after Christmas.
The 640g box of chocolates boasts three layers and 65 chocolates. Flavours include sticky toffee pudding, Maple pecan pie, dark chocolate brownie, and winter spice white chocolate, amongst many others.
No.1 The Swiss Chocolatiers Edition
The No.1 Swiss Chocolatier's Edition (£20) is produced in Switzerland by a third generation family chocolatier. Waitrose describes how the business began in 1931 with a teashop in Berne, and Google points the finger towards Gysi AG Chocolatier Suisse, founded by Walter Gysi and now run by third-generation owner, Thomas Gysi.
The 292g box of milk, dark, and white Swiss chocolates contain a variety of fillings, including fruit jellies and fudge centres.
A slightly smaller, rectangular box, branded as No.1 Classic Swiss Chocolate Edition (£12), appears to be made by the same company. The 200g box is smaller and more vanilla in terms of appearance, but is better value.
Christmas Contemporary Chocolate Collection
The 155g No.1 Christmas Contemporary Chocolate Collection (£10) is presented in a festive triangular box and features 16 triangular-shaped chocolates printed with pretty designs.
An assortment of pralines, sea salted caramels, truffles, and ganache-filled chocolates can be found inside single origin Dominican Republic chocolate shells.
The cheaper 155g No.1 Contemporary Chocolate Collection (£8) appears to be very similar, with different shapes of chocolate (but a near-identical description) and a square box instead of a triangular form.
Other Highlights
Other highlights for Christmas include:
- Christmas Liquorice Honeycomb Coal (£5; instore) is a fabulous gift for those that have been naughty this year. Jet black chunks of liquorice flavoured honeycomb are dipped in dark chocolate and topped with sparkly black sugar.
- Replace your after dinner mints with Minty Chocolate Igloos (£5). Five white chocolate and four dark chocolate snow-topped igloos contain a delicate Mitcham peppermint centre and add a festive flair to dinnertime.
- The Christmas Salted Caramel Fudge Slab (£5) features salted caramel fudge at its core, and is topped with cocoa nibs and golden sugar crystals.
- The Waitrose Christmas Chocolate Selection (was £10, now £5) is an entry-level selection of milk, dark, and white chocolates filled with festive flavourings or caramels.
- Waitrose Gianduiotti (£10) is presented in a Christmas tree form, and contains red- and gold-foiled classic and dark gianduja chocolate pralines made in Northern Italy.
- No.1 Designer Chocolate Collection (£8) boasts an assortment of 12 ganache and truffle-filled chocolates wrapped in single origin chocolate and printed with fabulous designs.
Will any chocolate treats from Waitrose & Partners find their way into your home this Christmas? Let me know which products you're buying this winter in the comments below.
