Ultimate Chocolate Experience and PURE Review
Ultimate Chocolate Experience and PURE
7 June 2016
Reviewed by Deborah Mackenzie
When you enter the York Chocolate House, the first smell that hits you is chocolate! The sweet power smell takes over your senses and you want to try its luxurious flavour. The quaint café has lots of eye catching chocolate related items around, books, different types of chocolate and inviting seating to sample their products.
Sophie, the owner has a true love for chocolate and this is evident in the products produced as both savoury and sweet tasty morsels include chocolate. It is a amazing how well chocolate works in different types of dishes, especially as chocolate is only sweet if sugar is added. I loved the rarebit that included the chocolate spice.
We went for a lesson in chocolate making, where Sophie gave us a brief but enlightening history of how cocoa came into production and the different processes it needs to go through before it becomes that lovely sweet bar we call chocolate, or that steaming hot cup of delight we all savour on a cold wet night (or any time); without the thought of how did it get there.
We sampled the raw beans and the various stages of it until we had buttons to melt and produce our own little bar of delight. It was hands on as we melted the buttons with a hairdryer; this is quicker than you would think and perfect so the chocolate do not burn. Once melted we poured it into our mould and added a variety of sprinkles to make it a signature bar.
This experience was amazing, Sophie and staff were attentive, eager to answer any questions and share their love for chocolate. It is accessible for all and something that is educational yet fun and of course very tasty.
We loved our experience from beginning to end, tasting the different foods that they had created, amazing us with what chocolate can work with in every day cooking, and that it enhances the flavour. Our questions were answered with eagerness and felt that we were the only person there as they had a way that they included everyone and made them feel that they were important.
I recommend this experience to everyone, even if you say you do not like chocolate, go and try the café as you will be amazed and delighted because it is not just a sweet bar to eat.
Mikron Theatre Company’s Theatre anywhere for everyone by canal, river and road’, production PURE, written by Richard Vergette.
The synopsis of the production is about a large manufacturing company called Kreation Foods, that wanted bigger, bolder productions, bought a smaller company Plumstead’s, who produced the nations favourite bar.
Kreation foods wanted to relaunch this bar with all the flashiness available, which suited the Head of Marketing Theresa, but for the trainee Faye looked further than just profits, with the farmers and employees in mind, was her worse nightmare.
The scenes went back 150 years showing the pioneers of chocolate and the battles they were having producing a decent drinking chocolate. With poor life styles, family problems John Jordan discovers a revolutionary way to purify chocolate; but can he persuade his mean landlord to finance his bold invention?
The story transported us through the years, with amusing songs and witty lines filled with the story of chocolate and the hardships endured to bring us this delicious bar that we all take for granted. The messages that Mikron Theatre company base their productions around give us food for thought and a taste of history.
This whole production was enacted on an allotment, sitting on foldup chairs, where nature surrounded us. There was only a few props which also lent to a place that the 4 actors could change into their various costume as the scenes went from modern day to the past. The actors did all the sound effects and music for the songs themselves, was truly delightful.
Our evening was PURE joy; the whole experience of outdoor theatre, the wittiness and amusing song brought many tears of laughter. Yet there was a serious side included in these lines about just exactly where do our products come from, are big companies taking over without a thought of the little man. I found this to be disconcerting at times as it brought to light my own shortcomings of not really caring about how I get what I want in the store.
Even the interval was chocolate related, where chocolate fancies, many home baked, bars of Fair Trade chocolate and hot drinking chocolate was served. This personal touch for me made the evening experience one to remember that will stay with me for a very long time as I will be looking closer at what I buy to help the voiceless ones.
I would love to see more of their productions as I found them to be entertaining, informative and brought a bit of soul searching with it.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information and tour dates for PURE visit www.mikron.org.uk.
