It may seem a little unorthodox, but in my humble opinion, Easter is the best celebration; it lacks the great (and utterly unachievable) expectations which come as part and parcel at Christmas and manages to swerve the cringingly awkward forced sentimentality which one finds themselves drowning in on Valentine’s Day.
The one thing I will say for Christmas is that you cannot possibly miss the memo, with its brash and unavoidable month-long run-up of garish jumpers and twinkling lights. Easter, on the other hand, creeps up on us; one minute we’re cooing at the first signs of spring, only to look up and find ourselves knee-deep in pastel-hued décor, glinting foil eggs and a ream of invitations to family get-togethers.
Sound familiar? Fret not, we’ve taste-tested our way around town and whittled London’s chocolate bounty down to a handful of extraordinary eggs – plus, we have a few excellent wild card gifting options up our sleeve too; from the city’s most chocolatey spa treatment and an exquisite Champagne breakfast in bed to a gutsy 5-course feast, created by a Michelin-starred chef and delivered straight to your door. You’re welcome!
The ultimate Easter afternoon tea: The Stafford
Lofty Green Park was created solely to enable King Charles II to walk from Hyde Park to St. James’ Park without him having to step off royal soil – it feels so much better than normal soil, you see. But as delightful as a stroll around these leafy oases is, frankly we can’t wait to hot foot it off the oh-so royal soil. For, at the end of a secret snicket hides a hotel fit for a king: The Stafford. This fabulous grande dame, all flicking flags and polished wood panelling, is home to The Game Bird restaurant, with celebrated Michelin-starred chef, Lisa Goodwin-Allen at the helm.
For a dose of quintessentially British jollification with a seasonal twist, book their limited-edition Easter afternoon tea. Alongside the smorgasbord of dainty finger sandwiches and classic scones, you’ll find homemade hot cross buns and a ceremonial cake trolley overflowing with Easter treats, like the vanilla and raspberry white mouse (a playful tribute to former resident, Nancy Wake – yes, the Allies’ most highly decorated WWII servicewoman, AKA “The White Mouse”). Even Charles II would venture over peasant soil for that spread!
The Stafford’s Easter afternoon tea is available from Monday 25th March until Monday 1st April at £70pp (£87pp with a glass of Louis Roederer Collection 244 Champagne). For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.thestaffordlondon.com.
The capital’s most gluttonous egg: Cutter & Squidge’s Billionaire Filled Easter Egg
When you’re advised to eat an Easter egg with a spoon, you know something’s gone awry. Once you clap your eyes on this jaw-dropping, eye-popping, chocolate-laden creation of Bruce Bogtrotter proportions, it all makes sense. Cutter & Squidge’s beloved Billionaire Filled Egg is back and it’s more elaborate than ever. Layered with gooey caramel, buttery shortbread crumbs and a whipped chocolate ganache studded with honeycomb, the London-based bakery’s masterpiece is a go hard or go home kind of affair.
This calorific base is crowned with an arty display of crispy chocolate pearls, hunks of salted caramel fudge and (not so) mini chocolate eggs, which have been given a good old gold dusting (billionaire style) and filled with a rich chocolate and caramel ganache. Weighing in at a hefty 350kg it’s a chocoholics dream – though, I must say, a meagre spoon is not the best implement with which to tackle it… a hacksaw is.
Cutter & Squidge’s Billionaire Filled Easter Egg is available from www.cutterandsquidge.com priced at £23.99.
The ultimate floral collab: Bloom & Wild’s Althea Liberty Bouquet
Granted, flowers can seem a little pedestrian when it comes to an alternative Easter gift, but bear with me, for these are no normal flowers. These are the limited-edition love child of London’s go-to florist and the city’s most beloved shop – yes, Liberty (well, who else would you partner with when it comes to iconic flower combos?). The result? An insanely stylish range of perfectly curated blooms, like The Althea Liberty Bouquet.
Marrying sunset-hued chrysanthemums, lavender campanula and captivating rouge snapdragons, it was created as a nod to carefree summer days and comes elegantly wrapped, ribbon and all, in Liberty’s nostalgic Rainbow Garden print (a showstopper from their infamous back catalogue). Don’t fear, there’s no need to ruin your loved one’s surprise by asking them to wait in for the big delivery – the stems are delivered ‘sleeping’, safely tucked up in a nifty letterbox-friendly coffer.
The limited-edition Bloom & Wild x Liberty collection is available to order from www.bloomandwild.com.
London’s rarest egg: Rococo Chocolate’s Criollo Easter Egg (main picture)
Rococo Chocolate’s highly-prized criollo Easter eggs have officially landed. Created using super rare Ocumare criollo cacao from Ecuador’s Hacienda San Cristobal, the egg’s hearty carapace proves rich, smooth and insanely creamy, showcasing playful hints of almond and spice. Oh, and we don’t use the word ‘rare’ lightly in these parts – this strain of cocoa is so recherché, it was initially presumed to be extinct! Today, you can find it in abundance in Rococo’s truffle-packed stores, in not one, but two mouthwatering varieties.
The Sea Salt edition sees hand-harvested crystals from Wales’ finest artisan salt producer, Halen Môn, folded through the shell, for that inexplicably delicious Unami experience. The Honeycomb Crunch on the other hand is pockmarked with glorious ground honeycomb, for the ultimate olfactory experience. Nesting inside each egg hides a handful of milk chocolate ganache truffles.
Rococo Chocolate’s criollo eggs retail at £46 and are available at www.rococochocolates.com.
The ultimate breakfast in bed: Forman & Field’s Rise & Shine Hamper
To say the Forman family’s humble east London smokery has come a long way, is somewhat of an understatement. Today, London’s oldest smokehouse, H Forman & Son, is the go-to for top chef’s at London’s best hotels, restaurants and private members clubs. Thankfully, their award-winning gourmet delivery service, Forman & Field, means you can summon everything from succulent lobster thermidor and creamy foie gras to delicate pearls of Beluga caviar straight to your door.
Lavish Easter breakfast spread sound just the ticket? Order their exquisite Rise & Shine Hamper, packed with everything from Brick Lane bagels with Forman’s famous smoked salmon and a deliciously herby cream cheese to their superb homemade strawberry jam, dainty macaroons, fresh smoothies and some cracking coffee. And yes, there is a chilled Balfour Leslie’s Reserve English sparkling wine to toast the big day with – now, that’s a breakfast of champions. Oh, and don’t miss out on their outrageously good hot cross bun bread and butter pudding – it’s Easter, after all.
Forman & Field’s Rise and Shine Hamper is available from www.formanandfield.com priced at £88.50.
A Michelin feast delivered to your door: Home by Simon Rogan
If eating your bodyweight in chocolate doesn’t float your boat this Easter, how about Michelin-starred chef, Simon Rogan whips you up a delicious 5-course meal at yours? We thought that may pique your interest. With a small constellation of stars to his name, Home by Simon Rogan is your gourmet go-to for chef-curated feasting this Easter. Each month, his talented team take the best seasonal produce and transform them into gutsy three-course meal kits, which you can pull together in a jiffy in your own abode (with help from their quick and easy QR link video tutorial).
This Easter they’re offering a special 5-course menu, featuring sourdough and whipped butter with a white Lisbon onion soup with pickled walnut and Spenwood. For mains, its pressed lamb belly with crushed new potatoes, salsify crisp and parsley. And, being the season of utter indulgence, there are three desserts to get your teeth into; Bakewell slice with rhubarb jam and marigold, almond and hazelnut praline chocolate eggs and pumpkin and white chocolate hot cross buns. You get to dine like a king and look like a world-class chef. You’re welcome!
Home by Simon Rogan’s Easter menu is available for delivery/ collection on Wednesday 27th or Thursday 28th of March 2024. Visit www.simonrogan.co.uk for more details.
London’s most chocolatey spa treatment – Lush’s Comforter
Over the years I’ve tried all manner of spa treatments around the capital, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous (I still have PTSD from that fish pedicure). For an hour of unbridled escapism, book The Comforter experience at Lush. Cocooned in a discombobulating world of music, bubbles and chocolate, you are first slathered from head to toe in raw cacao liquor, polished until you gleam. What ensues can only be likened to falling into a chimeric dream.
Plunged into a fantastical state of derealization one’s mind wanders off, fuelled by the choreographed massage and the dulcet tones of the in-house band and its kooky take on nostalgic hits, from ‘Sunny’ to ‘Moon River’ as delicate bubbles rain down. To bring you back to reality? Well, a good old fashioned candy floss ‘cloud cocktail’ of course– its raison d’être? A reminder not to take life too seriously. Now you don’t get that from a bar of chocolate, do you?
The Comforter treatment lasts 1hour and is priced at £110. For more information or to book visit www.lush.com.
London’s prettiest Easter hampers: Carpo
Collaborating with small independent growers around the world, Carpo has been London’s go-to for meticulously sourced nutty nibbles for ten glorious years. From their mind-boggling menu of freshly roasted nuts, exotic dried fruits and beautifully presented chocolates to their aromatic coffee, which wafts its way along Piccadilly. Venturing inside their flagship store and asking to “buy some nuts” is a little like popping into Dulux and asking for “some paint” – not as simple as it may seem; there’s roasted nuts, blanched nuts, flavoured nuts, dusted nuts, coated nuts, chocolate-nuts, candied nuts…I could go on.
When decision paralysis strikes, cram one of their impossibly pretty hampers with all manner of nutty delights: Easter feasting sorted. Whatever you do, make sure you leave room for their fabulous ‘chocolate rocks’- enormous hunks of fine chocolate loaded with… you guessed it.
For more information on Carpo’s products or to order a hamper visit www.carpoworld.com.
The thickest egg in town: Hotel Chocolat’s Extra Thick Easter Egg – Serious Dark Fix
It’s been twenty years since Hotel Chocolat opened their first store in North London, its raison d’être? Making chocolate exciting again. They’ve certainly succeeded; entering a Hotel Chocolat catapults you back to that thrilling feeling of being a child in a sweet shop, but it isn’t neon gobstoppers and tongue-tingling sherbet dips dwarfing you here; it’s dusty rum truffles, vintage cocoa creations, chilli-laced pralines and billions of batons…I could go on.
This Easter, rubbing shoulders with their usual range of belt-loosening treats, they have a super selection of luxe Easter eggs, including their ‘Extra-Thick’ range. Opt for their Serious Dark Fix – with half of the fiendishly thick Ghanaian chocolate shell crafted from seriously smooth 70% and the other from intense 85%, inside it’s piled high with rich truffles and decadent pralines, with the odd bouncing bunny for good measure.
Hotel Chocolat’s Serious Dark Fix Extra-Thick Easter Egg is available at www.hotelchocolat.com for £29.95.
This season’s must-try drink: Pomello
Hostess with the mostess? Then you need to get your hands on a bottle of this season’s hottest new aperitif, Pomello. Marrying zingy Californian pomello with aromatic Swedish elderflower it nails the bitter sweet balance perfectly, making the ultimate addition to a refreshing spritz – sorry, Aperol.
But don’t just take our word for it, having launched just months ago its stockists already read like a little black book of A-list hideouts, with its elegant bottles gracing the bars at The Birley Clubs, The Connaught, The Twenty Two and Claridge’s, to name but a few. Not sure where to start? Pick your favourite glass, add mountains of crushed ice, drench it in a generous slug of Pomello and then top it up with sparkling wine and a dash of soda – garnish with a wedge of fresh grapefruit and you have summer in a glass. Chin-chin.
Pomello is available from www.pomello.world.
The family fix: Chococo’s Assorted Easter Chocolate Hamper Bag
All hail this kaleidoscopic treasure trove of Easter-themed delights from Dorset’s artisan chocolatier, Chococo. Perfect for the indecisive, this nifty branded tote is chock-full of playful, handcrafted Easter goodies to please the whole family. Let’s start with their rawesome Dino Easter egg (sorry, not sorry) – a nod to the brand’s beloved Jurassic Coast – it’s a love child of this family-run Dorset chocolatier and its Colombian grower.
The fossil-strewn feast, encased in an arty mottled shell, is studded with chocolate dinosaurs and the odd edible ammonite to boot. For the grownups, there’s a stupendously tasty honeycomb egg; a beautiful marriage of Columbian cocoa and Dorset’s finest honey. Need something to scatter around the garden? Their chocolate bunnies will do nicely and there’s even a couple of Wonka-worthy bars for the big reveal – just don’t let the little rascals near the blonde bunny, it’s too good for them.
Chococo’s Assorted Easter Chocolate Hamper Bag is available from www.chococo.co.uk at £65.
The best cocoa-powered wellness bundle: Ancient & Brave Ultimate Cacao Ritual
Ask any nutritionist worth their salt (low sodium, naturally) and they will confirm that good old cocoa is a salubrious superfood, packed with antioxidants and polyphenols. Cult wellness brand Ancient + Brave know this better than anyone and in an ingenious move the savvy team have taken unadulterated raw South American cacao and pimped it up even further with skin-loving bovine collagen peptides, stress-quashing adaptogenic ashwagandha and nutrient diverse baobab, beetroot and carob. Naturally sweetened with cinnamon the result is a deliciously smooth collagen-boosting cocoa drink.
To really feel the benefits, get your hands on one of their Ultimate Cacao Ritual sets, which also includes their bestselling True Collagen supplement (a scoop in your morning coffee will have you glowing all day) and their True MCT Oil (a ketogenic energy food for the brain and body). All packaged in a slick presentation box, it’s the perfect cacao powered wellness bundle for your clean living loved one.
Ancient + Brave’s Ultimate Cacao Ritual set is available at www.ancientandbrave.earth currently priced at £67.00 (usually 83.96).
The nuttiest egg in town: Prestat’s Gianduja of Piedmont Easter Egg
Back in 1902, when an enraged Emmeline Pankhurst was preparing to strike and the V&A was frantically putting the final touches to its glorious façade, master chocolatier, Antoine Dufour, was throwing open the doors to Prestat’s first London chocolate shop. Much has changed since it began dazzling the Edwardians with its cocoa-dusted truffles, but the quality of its chocolate has not wavered – just ask the Crown, they granted it a royal warrant, after all.
This Easter, Prestat’s very own Hettie the Hen has laid a handsome haul of seasonal treats, including their Gianduja of Piedmont Easter Egg; a not so humble homage to the great Italian hazelnut. Elegantly encased in one of their beautiful boxes, it marvellously marries their single origin Côte d’Ivoire milk chocolate with the finest grade Piedmontese hazelnuts. Inside, it’s crammed to the rafters with delicious Gianduja truffle titbits – Antoine would certainly approve.
Prestat’s Gianduja of Piedmont Easter Egg is available from www.prestat.com priced at £36.
The egg which plumps your visage… not your derrière: Stress Moisturiser by Faace
Behold, a cream egg with a difference! Filled with whipped face cream, this oh-so jovial lilac vessel houses the award-winning, eco-friendly elixir: Stress Faace Moisturiser. Champing at the bit to revitalise stressed complexions, this weightless formula boasts everything from softening marula and hydrating Japanese rice bran oil to that how-did-you-manage-without-me-before ingredient, niacinamide (basically it’s a magic wand for skin).
Yes, this trusty pot of potency battles turbulent skin, leaving it lighter and brighter – in short, this powerhouse potion does for your skin, what Fortnum’s does for your pantry. Plus, with seductive notes of jasmine, ylang ylang, geranium and patchouli, it’s like a trip Kew Gardens every time you open the oh-so jolly pot (minus the fantastical fungi and Chokushi-Mon, that is).
Faace’s Stress Faace Moisturisers is available at www.wearefaace.com priced at £34.
