Melt's Unique Approach
Melt wanted our chocolate to be accessible to all - therefore the shop is open plan where you can "pick your own chocolates" with a wooden try and tongs.
Melt wanted only the freshest and natural ingredients. Why settle for anything less than the best natural ingredients sourced from around the world. You could say we are obssessed with quality and this is an area we will not compromise. You won't find any "E" numbers, stabilizers or preservatives in our chocolate - just nature at its best. Therefore our shelf life is short but we believe you can taste the difference.
Melt wanted to be a leading light in the chocolate revolution - bringing the sight, sound and smell of real chocolate to our customers - hence we have our kitchen located in our Notting Hill shop. You can watch our chocolatiers at work and discuss the lastest chocolates with them.
Inside our Boutique
The Layout of the Shop
Light and airy we want to make chocolate accessible to all
Pick your own chocolates
Pick Your Own
We have provided wooden trays and tongs so that you can "pick your own". More fun and quicker than pointing randomly at chocolates hidden under a glass canopy. A natural way to select your own chocolates which we will then beautifully wrap in one of our boxes. This helps make chocolate more accessible and removes the barriers to allow you to see exactly what you are getting.
We'd also love you to try our
pick your own section on our site.
Chika Watanabe heads the Melt Kitchen
Kitchen at work
We have brought the kitchen right into the shop - so you can enjoy the theatre of making chocolate - and see the sights, sounds and smells of a real live chocolatiers at work. This team is highly skilled and watching them at work is a fascinating and somewhat intoxicating experience.
Our Head Chocolatier is Chika Watanabe from Tokyo, Japan. Chika worked in a bank in Tokyo, but her passion was chocolate. Her dream was to travel to Europe and study to be a Chocolatier.
In 2001, she left Japan, travelling to London to study at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, where she studied chocolate, pastry and bakery.
Chika became a Pastry Chef at two of London 's top hotels Claridges Hotel and The Lanesborough Hotel, working with some of Europe's finest Chefs.
She was then invited to become Head Chef at Melt, where she now heads a team of 3 Chefs. Her fresh, innovative designs and commitment to quality have earned Chika a reputation for excellence in London 's competitive culinary world.
Both Japanese and British magazines have featured Chika as an bold chef who has brought Japanese art into a European tradition.
'My inspiration comes from Japan - where ancient tradition and new technology work together. I combine this with the European art of fine chocolate. I want to create something new, a style of chocolate that London has never seen before'
Chika’s favorite shop in Tokyo - Hidemi Sugino
Le chocolatier -Takagi
Decadence du Chocolat
© Melt 2010
