It’s that time of year again when the shops go into overdrive selling Valentine’s Day merchandise. Expectation levels are high; will we receive flowers, chocolates, a card from the petrol station, an invitation to dinner?! Or none of the above, with the reasoning that true love should be expressed throughout the year and not just on one day…My little boy is making a Valentine’s day card this year. He’s six and there is one particular young lady who has captured his attention. I’ve already received my ‘love note’ from him and a cut out heart, saying “I Love You Mummy.” I’ve also had an early taste of some Hotel Chocolat ‘Love Notes’ - so I’m a happy girl even if that’s my lot. I also have a box to share with one of my readers, too.
This year, the Hotel Chocolat Love Notes Menu reveals – Amaretto Marzipan, Caramel Praline, Champagne Bellini, Dark Mousse, Lemon Berry Tart and Salted Praline. In this box, you get 12 chocolates, two of each flavour. The box is small but sturdy, you could keep it for your real love notes. Underneath the chocolates, there are twelve love quotes, so as you pick each chocolate out of the box, you reveal a little message. Since I’ve just been to see Les Misérables, I’ll share a Victor Hugo quote from the box - “Love is a portion of the soul itself.”
There’s a clear winner in this box for me – the Caramel Praline. If you’ve ever tasted Hotel Chocolate’s Caramel Button’s you’ll know what I mean when I say it’s almost impossible not to eat the whole packet in one sitting. So, the combination of milk chocolate, praline and caramel in a heart-shaped chocolate was definitely the highlight of the box for me. My husband immediately picked out the two Amaretto Marzipan chocolates, since those are his two very favourite flavours. I’m not usually a fan of fruity chocolates, but the Lemon Berry Tart (white chocolate) offered a taste of rich lemon curd with a spike of berries followed by sweet and mellow white chocolate. The Champagne Bellini has a really good hit of alcohol and a dash of peach, but I didn’t really get any peach flavour. The Dark Mousse was probably my least favourite, but then again, I’ve always favoured Hotel Chocolat’s milk chocolate range, but that’s just me. There’s a Salted Praline, too, and though I’m a little over salted chocolate this one has a good pinch of Fleur de Sel.
Hotel Chocolat’s Love Notes are priced at £14.00. Last year, I believe that the box contained a little card that you could write a personal love note on, this year, you don’t get a card, only the insert with love quotations.
I also noticed their Lovebirds chocolate (priced at £10.00), which I thought were sweet.
If you are hoping to impress someone this Valentine’s Day, I’d say go for The Affection Collection along with a Revive Treatmeant Candle.
Here’s how to enter the Hotel Chocolat Giveaway – the prize will be sent out by Hotel Chocolat directly.
Note – This is a sponsored review, all views and opinion expressed are my own. Many thanks to Hotel Chocolat.
Ren Behan
Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to two young children (6 and 3) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com and about Polish food on her site www.mypolishkitchen.co.uk. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications. Ren holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Full Profile on Google+
Caramel Praline ..to die for:)
Mint Chocolate, sooo addictive
orange creme
milk chocolate!
White chocolate and raspberry
Mint Chocolate..yummmmm
I like so many, but at the moment, mint. Loving that new mint kitkat, and After Eights, and Bendicks of course.
Amaretto Marzipan – delicious
Love all Hotel chocolate – they can’t put a foot wrong for me.
Anything with caramel! Love pretty much all chocolate though!
DARK CHOCOLATE WITH MARZIPAN FILLING
Chocolate Truffle!
raspberry and milk chocolate
I don’t have a favourite brand but I’m particularly drawn to dark chocolate with praline, raspberry, cherry or orange. Yum!
I love mint chocolate.
any fruit and nut chocolate
Dark chocolate caramel or toffee
Strawberry cream
Milk chocolate and nuts – yummy!
Strawberry cream, mmm…
Recently I’ve started to enjoy good liqueur chocolates. However, I’m still rather hung up on HCs gingerbread truffle from Christmas
chocolate orange is divine,invited friends to your blog
I love any type of praline.
white chocolate with coconut
strawberry cremes
Salty Caramel
It has to be Coffee – I miss the creams in tins so much at Christmas I go and buy them separately and put them in lol – always my favourite!
I like fillings to be coconut or caramel. Once had Chilli chocolate, which was delicious.
i like all types of choc! but my fave is with nuts
Milk and white chocolate ,mmmmmmmmm!!
Dark chocolate and violet cream
Chocolate and honeycomb go together very well, yum!
Love Strawberry or Orange Creams.
Simon.
Hotel Chocolat truffles – they are divine! I could slap my granny for them!
chocolate honeycomb yum
My favourite are praline though I love just about all milk or white chocolate.
Amaretto Marzipan
my favourite chocolates are milk chocolate truffles
Dark chocolate truffles mmmm
White chocolate and Vanilla
Milk tuffle in white chocolate
Orange cream
strawberry creme for me
Milk chocolate praline with walnuts
Soft Caramel for me – my teeth aren’t what they used to be
White Chocolate With A lemon Filling
Milk choc and praline….heaven. Also love truffles, caramel, nuts……anything with choc really!
any thing with milk chocolate is heaven
Chocolate and Cherry
Strawberry Cream
dark chocolate and marzipan
Dark chocolate and Raspberry
I love orange creams. There is nothing quite like the bitter sweet taste of dark chocolate and a creamy orange filling
Anything with hazelnuts
Mint chocolate
Mint chocolate.
chocolate truffles
Milk chocolate and caramel
Dark chocolate and coffee ….. a match made in heaven x
My favourite chocolate combination is Hazelnut and Caramel
I love the combination of white chocolate and hazelnut. I’m just sad not many places have it….
salted caramel yum!
Dark chocolate and strawberry simply delicious !
I love strawberry creams!
love chocolate orange!!!!
Dark Chocolate and Bitter Orange my favourite Choc
I love choc with honeycomb, it is so moreish
Dark Chocolate with nuts
dark chocolates and nuts
Fave chocolate? After Eights!
Milk Chocolate with Praline Centre
I love strawberry and chocolate combo, or things like terrys chocolate orange <3
Marzipan and dark chocolate!
I love Hotel Chocolat’s chilli chocolate
dark chocolate and orange – yum!
Milk chocolate with a marzipan centre.
Milk chocolate with pistachio
coffee flavoured chocolate
I love Praline
Any fruit cream….to match my fruity personality or a nut one for my Nutty Husband
caramel and milk chocolate
Nothing has yet beaten salted caramel, but I’m open to offers
Chocolate praline
Ive yet to meet a chocolate that I dont like but my absolute favourite is Praline.
I love coffee flavour, luckily no one else in my house likes them, bonus!
Chocolate and strawberry
Milk chocolate and nuts
Caramel praline. Love love love anything with caramel
Chocolate and marzipan
dark chocolate and coffee
Chocolate Salted Caramels
I love anything with nuts – the Salted Praline sounds gorgeous!
Orange creme
Hazelnut praline
I love fruity flavours and turkish delight
strawberry or orange cream chocolates
strawberry cream
My all time favourites are dark chocolate cherry liqueurs
I love Caramel and Milk Chocolate – yummy!
BAILEYS LIQUEUR CHOCOLATES
Macadamia Paste. Hotel Chocolat did them in a selectin box at one time. I utterly fell in love with it.
caramel
milk chocolate!
My favourite is salted caramel.
White chocolate and raspberry!!! xoxo
oooh – I love raspberry souffle style chocs or Lemon flavours (salivating at the thought!)
xx
Anything with a praline centre, as long as it’s not dark chocolate.
Dark choc, the more bitter the better!
Love cherries covered with dark chocolate
Praline x
Choc and coffee.. Yummy!! <3
Chocolate and violet cream or rose cream
I luv strawberry cream in dark choc Yumm just the thought of it makes my mouth drewl lol
Xx
White chocolate and raspberry
Salted caramel!
caramels
Like Scrat, anything with a nut..so hazelnut
white chocolate and raspberry
I prefer soft centres and my favourite is coffee cream in a plain chocolate case.
Milk Chocolate and Caramel
Milk chocolate and Hotel Chocolat caramel chocolate.
anything dark and crunchy
Hotel Chocolate Salted Pralines are my favourite
Dark chcocolate is my favourite.
I love strawberry creams, yum.
Mint and dark chocolate
Milk chocolate and praline…an amazing combination.
Coffee cream as long as its not to sweet
I love mint chocolate!
Chocolate creams
I really like Chocolate Fudge
White chocolate and lemon
Chocoate caramel. Mmmm!
Anything with a soft centre, preferably caramel
I love all chocolate! But especially truffles.
caremel mmmmm so good
coffee cream, i’m drooling just thinking about them!
mint chocolate
rum and raisin chocolate
strawberry liqueur
Strawberry cream
Love raspberry and dark chocolate or praline
c
Chcolate and honeycomb
chocolate honeycomb, mmmm yummy
Strawberry creams in milk chocolate
Love salted caramel
Any alcoholic truffle.
Chocolate mint creams are my favourite
White Chocolate
Any alcoholic truffle.
i love a nice nutty praline chocolate
My husband would choose the Amaretto Marzipan ones too! I’m a Caramel Praline girl all the way
It’s got to be mint & chocolate for me.
I love a nice quality lemon mousse
I like pralines.
Mint and chocolate .. mmmmmmm!
I love salted caramels – the combination of sweet and salt is sooo yummy!
I like chocolate with nuts – yum!
peanut butter and dark chocolate
Coffee chocolate, mmmm.
Strawberry cream
I love coffee creams
I love raspberry with dark chocolate so rich and intense
Peanut Butter and chocolate!
I am addicted to dark orange chocolate, it’s heavenly!
strawberry creams
Dark chocolate with mint.
Strawberry Soft Centre!
Salted caramel!
I love chocolate with gooey caramel inside. I noticed they never seem to do caramel in white chocolate tho
Chocolate and honeycomb
This sounds and looks wonderful.
white chocolate and Raspberry
I just love dark chocolate and orange.
Plain milk chocolate for me
Chocolate and hazelnut
Milk Chocolate with Orange
Turkish Delight or Marzipan
White chocolate truffle
White Chocolate Creams
Mint and dark chocolate.
I like really dark chocolate
My fave is soft caramel with or without nuts. Yum!
In fresh food my fav combo is strawberries dipped in chocolate….as a filling for a choc box choccy would be anything with praline or nuts in it
Mint chocolate is my favourite, especially crispy mint rather than fondant
Salt & caramel
I LOVE Hotel Chooclat! Visited a store in London. Would love to win this one! I love salted caramel and dark chocolate!
I like turkish delight and chocolate
White chocolate does it for me
Chocolate and chilli – particularly in fudge cake. Yummy
Chocolate and praline!!
Or…….Chocolate and Ginger!
Mint chocolate
choc orange
Milk choc strawberry creams mmmmmm
Anything boozy!
I love dark chocolate truffles
hmm think it would have to be caramel
I love truffles, especially fruity ones.
Rum n raisin
Turkish delight covered in milk chocolate
Chocolate with soft caramel centres
I love Praline
Strawberry creams
Turkish delight is my favourite
Mmmmmm definately a sticky runny caramel!
Hazlenut pralines are my fave
Hazlenut pralines are my fave
Turkish delight is my favourite
2 of my favourites are Turkish Delight and any coffee flavoured chocolates.
Caramel ( preferably one of the hard, chewy ones )
I love chocolate praline x
white choc with a runny strawberry center
i love chilli chocolate
Orange cream
I love dark chocolate with coffee filling
White chocolate and raspberry
Salted Caramel
Any chocolate and nut combination
White chocolate
Truffle with Hazelnut
mint chocolate once i start eating it i cant stop most of all after eights lol
I love caramel centres – yum
milk chocolate and caramel
Salted Caramel!!
Salted caramel and milk chocolate!
hazelnut caramel
It has to be chocolates with a hazelnut praline …..although my father in law has just introduced me to chilli chocolate and that is gorgeous!
I love Raspberry creams but any soft centre is my favourite
Butterscotch
raspberry and milk
White Chocolate
Choclate caramels
Chocolate Orange
I love Turkish Delight.
mmm orange cream or raspberry cream…ooh i had apple in dark chocolate once which was delicious!
I love Violet & rose creams. Yum
I love nuts and milk chocolate
i love strawberry creams
I love white chocolate and raspberry
salted caramel
White Chocolate vanilla swirl! X
Milk chocolate with any kind or fruit or truffle filling. As long as it isn’t nutty – I’m a fan!
I love praline!
I love chocolate with chilli
DARK Chocolate and Orange
Cherry and dark chocolate
Any chocolate with caramel
I love chocolate with any nuts
chocolate caramel x
Praline – love nuts because I’m nutty myself
Strawberry cream :}
Plain Chocolate with Orange – mmm!!!!!
Chocolate covered caramel!
Dark chocolate (85%) truffle.
I love strawberry creme in dark chocolate.
milk chocolate
coconut flavour
im a praline girl
or salted caramel 
orange
My favourite is dark chocolate and strawberry cream
Anything minty!!
white chocolate and raspberry
Praline
White Chocolate vanilla swirl
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