which by date and time was…

Hayley! Congratulations lovely, drop me an email with your postal address and we’ll get you some chocolates in the post ASAP.

I love this time of year, the fact that each day starts with the opening of an advent calendar chocolate before I’ve even had breakfast is wonderful. And what’s even better, is that this year the fabulous team at Hotel Chocolat have sent me some of their scrummy treats to review meaning I can easily get in my compulsory 5-a-Day chocolates this month!

So, my goodie box contained one of their infamous H-boxes – the MILK OBLIVION one (yum!) – a tub of (Award Winning!) Kirsch Cherries, and the fabulous Go Bananas Slab!!!

I was planning on showing you pictures of the boxes opened, and delicately displayed, before we tried them….but i’m afraid that all of us fighting for our 5-a-Day didn’t leave much to show!

Needless to say the cherries were delicious, soft, sweet and covered in just the right amount of bitter dark chocolate…the H-box was indeed filled with a glorious selection of milk chocolate morsels designed to take you on a blissful taste adventure… and the Slab did send us all Bananas!!!

Hotel Chocolat have come up trumps yet again and shown us that chocolate really is one of the essential food groups!

For more inspiration check out their Christmas Gifts Boxes  or Stocking Fillers!

Even better news for you guys is that Hotel Chocolat are offering a similar treat pack to mine to one lucky person….just comment on this article or tweet me a message using #HCandLulubelles. We’ll pick a random winner out on Friday 9th at midday…happy commenting!

This week is National Cupcake Week and in the interests of supporting this most worthwhile of institutions, I bought a mixed box of cupcakes from Lulubelles in Winton to share with some visitors I had coming for tea.

There was much oohing and aahing over the pretty decorations, colours and flavours as everyone made their choice. I selected a “Jaffa” cupcake, one of the limited edition flavours created specially for Cupcake Week. It smelt divine and looked beautiful, a pale sponge base with a swirl of vibrant orange icing drizzled in chocolate. I was expecting it to taste good, but what really put a smile on my face was something I had not been expecting…the cake had a “smashing orangey bit”! The orange jelly layer you get in a real Jaffa cake! It was delicious but the surprise extra something was what made it so special.

Customers want to be surprised and delighted. Offering something above and beyond what they expect using creativity, thoughtfulness and attention to detail may not cost much and it will increase customer satisfaction, encourage customer retention and provide the potential for word of mouth or social media marketing for your brand.

Think about how you could add a “smashing orangey bit” for your customers…or get in touch and I’ll help you come up with some zesty ideas that will make a real difference to your small business!

Quite a challenge, but I’m pretty pleased with the result – what do you think?

The idea was dreamt up by two entrepreneurs Louisa Harman, who started her successful cupcake business in 2010, and Nicky Hargadon, who founded Ollie’s Closet in 2008. The two women saw an opportunity to boost both their businesses by moving in together allowing Lulubelle’s to get a presence on the high street, and Ollie’s to turn a spare storeroom into something much more exciting! They also hope to increase sales by sharing customers and plan to work together on future marketing and promotions.

From the huge cupcake shaped sign to a real presence in the shop Lulubelle’s Kitchen certainly won’t be hidden away. A huge picture window looks in on the kitchen from the shop so customers can see all the sprinkling, icing and sculpting for themselves. “We want the kitchen to reflect Lulubelle’s personality so we’re going for pink walls and a gallery of photos showing some of our favourite cakes” comments Louisa, “I’m so excited to be able to meet my customers when they come in to collect their orders, and also to start selling to passing trade through the shop and at the Winton Farmers’ Markets. I’ve got so many ideas and promotions in mind – it really is a fantastic opportunity!”

To celebrate this new partnership Lulubelle’s and Ollie’s Closet are holding a launch party taking place on Saturday June 25th from 12am to 4pm where you can sample free cupcakes and see the new kitchen. There will be face painting and children’s entertainment in store and the first 100 visitors will get an exclusive goodie bag, so pop along to treat yourself and discover all the exciting things you can now find in Ollie’s Closet!

We just hope the Bride and Groom enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed making them!

There is no rhyme or reason, but we love them and hope they make you smile too!

Any suggestions for next time???

Thanks to random.org we have a winner…

Congratulations Natalie, I’ll be in touch very soon!

:)

I’ve been very lucky this year and HOtel Chocolat have sent me a preview of one their Milk Chocolate Easter Eggsposé Egg and it is good!

By far the thickest Easter Egg I’ve ever eaten which more than makes up for my slight disappointment when I opened the box to find only half an easter egg!!! Smooth creamy milk chocolate that truly melts in your mouth accompanied by eight cheeky little praline eggs!

Absolutely delicious and I’m trying really hard to save some of it until Easter (yes, I know, it’s never going to happen!).

Now for some even better news, Hotel Chocolat have got another one of these eggs waiting for one of you lucky people! To enter, comment on this post before 5pm Sunday 27th March, and we’ll draw a random comment on Sunday.

Good luck everyone :)

x

Pizza Cake – now available to order with free delivery throughout March…
6″ – £15
8″ – £20
10″ – £25
12″ – £30