Rich Chocolate

Those of you out in Manchester at the weekend, perhaps jogging your way around these soggy streets on the Great Manchester Run or waiting to see a certain Mr Bolt run like a, well, bolt, might have noticed a new addition to Deansgate’s snacking options. Just opposite the Great Northern complex a new sprig has sprung in the form of The Chocolate Cafe, the second of a chain whose flagship outlet sits in the relative tranquillity of Ramsbotton. It specialises, you won’t be surprised to learn, in chocolate-based foodstuffs.

Essentially, however, it’s a cafe – you can get toast and scones and tea and coffee, stuff like that. They also do jacket potatoes with one topping for the rather breath-intaking price of £4.95 and, even more intake-inducing, cold sandwiches for £6 a go. That’s pretty steep by anyone’s standards but the toasted sandwiches surely take the WHLN Prize for Food-Induced Hyperventilation, sitting pretty as they do at the lofty heights of £7 each.

Their gimmick is the chocolate pizza – a chocolately take on the traditional dough, tomato and cheese format, substituting the likes of ham for fudge, olives for chocolate buttons and pepperoni for those little discs covered in sugary balls – jazzies they’re called, apparently. They look a bit like this:

So that’s all very nice except when you discover that a six inch ‘pizza’ with three toppings will set you back seven quid. It’d be interesting to find out how much chocolate you actually get for your seven bucks, but interesting enough to spend £7 finding out? Possibly – I’ll let you know.