Charbonnel et Walker ''Chocolatier'' is a British firm of chocolate makers based in
Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
History
Encouraged by Albert, Prince of Wales, later King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
, in 1875 Mme Virginie Eugenie Lévy, née Charbonnel, of ''Maison Boissier'' chocolate house in Paris, and Mrs Minnie Walker began a partnership in London as "Parisian Confectioners and Bon-Bon Manufacturers".
[ Charbonnel et Walker History] The partnership of Charbonnel and
icWalker was dissolved on 16 April 1878 and Mrs Walker carried on alone until her death on 8 June 1883.
The notice of death published in the ''
London Gazette
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
'' referred to "Mary Ann Alphandery also known as Minnie Walker".
[ The company of Charbonnel and Walker Limited went into liquidation in June 1894. The connection with the royal family continues to the present day, as Charbonnel et Walker hold a Royal Warrant as Chocolate Manufacturers to the ]Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
.
The new firm of Charbonnel et Walker is now based in the Royal Arcade Royal Arcade can refer to a number of structures:
* Royal Arcade, Boscombe
* Royal Arcade, Cardiff
* Royal Arcade, Charters Towers
* Royal Arcade, London
* Royal Arcade, Melbourne
The Royal Arcade is a historic shopping arcade in the centra ...
in Bond Street, not far from the original premises, and manufactured its chocolates at its factory in Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, until 2018 when it relocated their production to Poundbury
Poundbury is an experimental planned community or urban extension on the western outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England. The development is led by the Duchy of Cornwall, and had the keen endorsement of King Charles III when h ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
.
The company claims a number of notable figures from history to have been customers, such as Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
(who is said to have requested a fortnightly delivery box of their finest selections to his home), Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
, Sir John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...
, Sir Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...
, Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
, Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
and Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...
. Prince Francis of Teck
Prince Francis of Teck, (Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick; 9 January 1870 – 22 October 1910) was the younger brother of the British queen Mary of Teck, wife of King George V.
Family
Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick, known as "Frank", was bo ...
, the younger brother of the British queen Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...
, bequeathed the Teck Emeralds to his mistress "after courting her with Charbonnel et Walker chocolates."
Confectioneries
Charbonnel et Walker offers a wide variety of chocolates, as well as sugar confections like crystalized ginger and glazed brazil nut
The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...
s. A speciality is the Marc de Champagne Chocolate Truffles: these are chocolate truffles with chocolate butter infused with Marc de Champagne.
The company also produces a themed "James Bond – 007" range, inspired by the James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film franchise, including 007 Dry Martini Truffles. Their hot drinking chocolate
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or Cocoa solids, cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. ...
was created by Madame Charbonnel in 1875; it is available in Original and Sea Salt Caramel flavours.
Branches
, there are four Charbonnel et Walker shops in the UK, as well as two outlets in department stores:Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...
Store, London
* Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
Store, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
* Broadgate Circle
Broadgate is a large, office and retail estate in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London. It is owned by British Land and GIC and managed by Savills.
The estate is in part of the eastern City fringe, outside the line of the no ...
Store, London
* Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
– Chocolate Room (Ground Floor), London
* Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...
– Chocolate Room (Lower Ground Floor), London
References
Further reading
*
External links
Charbonnel et Walker UKCharbonnel Chocolates US WebsiteCharonnel et Walker Hong Kong
{{British Royal Warrant holders
Food and drink companies established in 1875
British chocolate companies
Food manufacturers based in London
British brands
British Royal Warrant holders