Chocolate came to Britain in the seventeenth century, and remained an expensive luxury for some time. The wealthiest chocolate-lovers - including Kings William III, George I and George II - had dedicated facilities to prepare the exotic beverage: chocolate was roasted, ground, then blended with milk or water, loaf sugar and spices to make a rich drink served from a special pot. All those kitchens are now gone, except for the royal example which has survived with its fittings intact. There are advantages to being a little neglected!
Spit rack
The kitchen was for some years the domain of Thomas Tosier, chocolate-maker to George I; a few rooms away is the former chocolate storeroom, which was probably his bedroom as well. Its window shutters were a security measure to safeguard the precious bean and the silverware and porcelain in which it was served.
However, while Thomas lived in these dignified circumstances, his wife Grace had a racier public profile: she ran a chocolate house in Blackheath which attracted wealthy, if sometimes rakish, customers for its chocolate and dancing. Grace was a celebrity in her own right, and prints of her portrait were sold; one hangs now in Thomas's room.
A third room has been adapted for demonstrations of chocolate-making. When the demonstrations are not running, a rather good film demonstrating the process is projected onto its walls.
After all that chocolate-themed history, it was no surprise that the cafe was doing a brisk trade in its special hot chocolate selection. The four cups contained drinks from four centuries: a seventeenth-century recipe, rich and spiked with chili; a Georgian recipe contemporary with the kitchen, aromatically spiced; a sweet Victorian version; and a contemporary white chocolate drink.
