I was recently getting together with some girlfriends and knew I needed to bring along something sweet...of course I thought of chocolate. Maybe a chocolate fondue fountain? No, too much trouble and mess. Hmmm...Ghiradelli was too old school and Trader Joe's checkout lines were too long, so I decided to try a new brand called Hotel Chocolat www.hotelchocolat.com. Like the Beckhams, it used to only be available in the UK but is now making waves in the States.

I was a hit at the party when I walked up with a huge box of various bite-sized chocolates. We uncorked the wine and tore into the box. With sleek packaging and a sophisticated title, we had high hopes. When the chocolate began to melt and caramel and nuts filled our senses, the taste was so rich that I could actually believe the claim that they grow their own cocoa at a historic plantation in St Lucia. Forget sugar -- this company knows that the "sex" is in the bean.

By far my favorite Hotel Chocolate product is the Milk Rocky Road slab, which blends chunks of white chocolate, crispy puffed rice and chocolate chip cookies. Be prepared -- it's intense!

Next on my list is ordering some boxes of Peepsters (love the name!)... http://www.hotelchocolat.com/Peepsters-CPeepsters/