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Archive for the ‘Chocolate Garden Chit Chat’ Category

Neven Maguire comes to Town

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Yum, this is the best part of my trip!!

Yum, this is the best part of my trip!!

Neven Maguire recently visited Murphys Master Craft Butchers in Tullow, Co. Carlow and addressed an enthusiastic gathering of local foodies.  Mary nabbed him on his way in and presented him with a delicious selection of chocolates.  Neven recently used our Wicklow Fine Foods Luxury Chocolate & Hazelnut spread in a decadent cooked cheesecake on his cookery programme.  We are eternally grateful for yet another idea of how we can enjoy it!

Bar-ak Obama… a new concept in chocolate!!

Thursday, May 19th, 2011
chocolate-bar-ack-obama2

You saw it here first!! Bar ak Obama

The Mother of All Easter Eggs

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Imagine 130 eight-square bars of chocolate, 130 x 50g… do the maths, that’s 6.5kg of Easter Egg!  Given that the ‘average’ consumption of chocolate per year in Ireland is 12 kg… that’s more than half your ‘average’ year’s supply.  Then again, maybe you’re above average!!   All in all, it’ll keep you chewing for a while, not to mention make you very popular with friends and family.  There’s a technique for eating such an egg… you’ve got to start from the back end so that it looks impressive for the longest time; as you progress, you’ll have to prop is up to take the bad look off it (pretend you haven’t actually got through the half of it … already!   Suffice it to say, if you’re lucky enough to find youself the proud owner of one of these babies, you’ll certainly be in the ‘above average consumption’ category for this year.

Ideal as gift Easter Baskets - blissful surprise for families, nirvana for chocoholics, redemption for dog-house dudes, perfect raffle prizes (mega powerful for fundraising) and the stuff that dreams are made of!

Hi Guys, did ya know bunnies laid eggs?!!

Hi Guys, did ya know bunnies laid eggs?!!

Pavlova…mmmm

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Couldn’t leave out the lemon cheese cake now, could I?  Pavlova and carrot cake to the rear!  Go and get yourself a snack and stop dribbling!  A few chocolate decorations on top make a huge difference..  visit our chocolate shop close to Tullow and stock up on some ‘wow factor’.

Deliciously tempting

Deliciously tempting

Cake of the Month

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Check out this fab cake which was made of chocolate biscuit cake for the lower layer, and chocolate fudge cake for the top layer…mmmmm…!!!!!  It was for my parents Golden Wedding anniversary… 50 years of loving wedded bliss…  and tonnes of patience and tolerance, deserves a really nice cake.  Made cheese cakes, banoffee, pavlova, carrot cake and more chocolate fudge cake for the night… we all rolled happily home!!   Are ya hungry yet… drool, drool…

More cakes can be viewed on our website, but if you’ve a special occasion, please do call in and we can custom-design something especially for you.  We can put images of musical notes / instruments, bees, ladybirds, autumn leaves, golden speckles, and lots more, all on thin slabs of chocolate and decorate the sides of the cake in this way… loads of possibilities!

Golden Anniversary Choc Biscuit & Choc Fudge

Golden Anniversary Choc Biscuit & Choc Fudge

Yummmmmmm...

Yummmmmmm...

Bird Hunt Complete

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Oh, but it’s great to have interesting  neighbours…. Meet Harry the hawk… he took off from the exhibiting arena next door - Woodlands Falconry - and spent the last couple of days here on holidays in the Chocolate Garden of Ireland, in our trees… just loves all things chocolate!

Oh Harry Hawk, where are you?

Oh Harry Hawk, where are you?

There's a good boy, Harry, come on down

There's a good boy, Harry, come on down

Alas, 27 hot chocolates, 6 cappucinos, 49 slices of chocolate fudge cake (very partial to these, he is), 11 ice cream sundaes, and 5 chocolate fondues and 2 days later, he has been reunited with Tommy and Carol and is gone back to Woodlands Falconry and regular bird food.  Maybe, he’ll become a regular…

Check out Woodlands Falconry for yourself, and do take a tip from Harry the Hawk and drop into us for a Cappu and chocolate cake while your at it.

Happy Birthday to us!

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Well, hello again, it’s been a busy and rapidly-passing summer!  Kids nearly back to school already.  Being our first summer with the shop open in our new location, we didn’t know what to expect.  The chocolate workshops were really busy in May and June with school groups.. and active retirement groups too (oldest candidate to date was 95, closely seconded by a 92 year old - they had a blast!) ; anyway we really didn’t know what to expect but the phone just kept ringing and we kept adding in extra dates and times for workshops.  We had our first birthday for the shop on the 18th of August - no celebrations yet as a couple of staff are still on holidays but we will, don’t worry!

We had a very unusual request recently… to make a chocolate sliotar, don’t have the photo just yet as it’s caught between mismatched software, laptops and iphone… but will let you have a look soon… picture this.. a football sized sliotar (hope I’m spelling that right, I’ve never actually written it before) white chocolate with brown with the red logo of a notable PLC hand crafted onto it - quite a project; it tooke about 4 prototypes to get the technique right since we don’t have a mould for a sliotar but happily the end product was great.

Congrats to anyone who has just got their leaving cert results after all that hard slog!  If you’re going to a debs soon and want the very best brownie points, well you’ll need the very best chocolates - see our website or if you want something special, give us a ring on 059-6481999.

mmmMMM… fabulous ice cream

Friday, May 28th, 2010
Organic Ice Cream - Dive in!

Organic Ice Cream - Dive in!

 

Don’t you just love ice cream in the garden on a hot day… well, thankfully, we’ve been getting plenty of them lately and hopefully they’ll continue.  Come and relish our organic ice cream and chill!  Take yourself into a different realm… but watch for Rosie, our lovely black cat who is often to be found lounging around the picnic tables scouting for generous ice cream eaters… my four year old, blissfully unaware of hygiene matters, delights in offering her a spoon of hers to lick!  WARNING: Unattended ice cream will be eaten - by loitering four-legged (or even two-legged) companions!

Football Season

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

What ever you do, don’t kick it!  But if you need peace while you’re watching the match, this could earn you serious brownie points!  Chocolate football… a new concept in sport.

A new way to enjoy football!

A new way to enjoy football!

May Hotties

Monday, May 24th, 2010
Aren't they so sweet!

Aren't they so sweet!

I’m just sooooo excited about our new products…. I’m literally like a [big] kid in a candy shop!  But check them out yourself, little bees on chocolate bars, ladybirds, butterflies and flowers on lollipops… the Chocolate Garden has really come of age!!  But not to rest on our laurels, we are constantly trying new things.  So, watch this space!   check our website if you want to buy some of these beauties - www.chocolategarden.ie

We already had chocolate flower lollipops which are great as wedding favours, but the bit of colour is great, don’t you think?!   Product ideas and inspiration always welcome….

... just can't keep the bees off the chocolate!

... just can't keep the bees off the chocolate!

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