A lady guest of the W London Hotel in Leicester Square came up to me this week asking me to help her with directions to a place called Venchi. She said she has heard that it has just opened in Covent Garden and it’s her number one choice for hot chocolate, handnmade chocolates and gelato. In fact her favourite in the whole world – a large statement! So here you are – check it out yourself!

You might think ‘chocogelateria’ is a hard word to wrap your tongue  around, but when it comes to chocolate and gelato store Venchi, the real  mouthful is its tastebud-tickling treats. Newly opened in Covent Garden,  Venchi brings with it 134 years of expertise. It started as a small  chocolatier in Turin, has become a byword for quality throughout Italy, and  even has the licence to produce Armani’s chocolate collection.

Now, chocoholics can get their Venchi fix in London. Pop in to the new Market  Building space to shop for gourmet gifts and indulgent goodies. Connoisseurs  will love Venchi’s ‘chocaviar’ (tiny nuggets of cocoa) and ‘cigars’  of cocoa paste and ground meringue. There are piles of pralines and ingots of  gianduja, and jars of impossible-to-resist chocolate spread, produced  in-store using an exclusive recipe.

The chocolate’s only half of it though. Don’t leave without a gelato in  hand. Venchi makes all its gelato on-site and its creativity extends to more  than 50 flavours. As with all its products, only natural ingredients are used  – from Piedmont hazelnuts to the highest-quality cocoa sourced from the  best Criollo plantations in Latin America and West Africa. Everything is  gluten-free, including the cones, and Venchi even boasts a high nutritional  content in its gelatos – what better reason to slurp an extra scoop or  two.

VENCHI

Covent Garden

The Market, 20

London WC2E – UK