Marchesi 1824 Offers Sweet Luxury at New, Harrods Chocolate Hall Shop

There’s nothing like Italian food, and no one knows that better than Harrods, which is making space for Marchesi 1824 in its Chocolate Hall on the ground floor.

Marchesi 1824, which started life as an elegant pasticceria in Milan, and is now owned by Prada Group, has just opened an exclusive corner offering artisanal chocolate creations, including pralines, cremini, dragées and biscuits.

As with luxury fashion, there are exclusive products to mark the opening, namely “Grand Cru” chocolates made with a new, 74 percent cocoa mass derived from beans grown in the area south of Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo.

A cocoa mass is the pure liquid base of chocolate. It contains a mix of cocoa butter and solids, and can be transformed into myriad sweets, including truffles, powder, cream and bars.

Andrea Menicatti, chief executive officer of Marchesi 1824, said in an interview the brand has ambitions to take its chocolate to the world, and Harrods was the ideal place to start.

“Being present in such a prestigious setting allows us not only to introduce our creations to an international audience, but also to reinforce Marchesi 1824 as a symbol of Italian pastry excellence worldwide,” he said, adding that Marchesi has been “investing heavily” in terms of quality and innovation of its chocolate sourcing and products.

He described the Grand Cuvée Venezuela 74 percent mass as “the pinnacle of this excellence, crafted from prized Criollo beans from the Bay of Maracaibo, renowned for developing deep, lingering notes.”

The mass, he added, was selected specifically for Marchesi 1824, “reflecting our commitment to excellence and to highlighting the unique characteristics of this renowned origin.”

Marchesi developed its newest product lines based on the prized liquid. There are new dragées — classic, biscuit, and freeze-dried — as well as a series of pralines and chocolate bars.

Although the mass may come from Venezuela, Marchesi’s chocolate is made in Italy. After arriving at Marchesi’s laboratories, it is tempered and channeled into Grand Cru bars, dragées and pralines and hand-decorated by Diego Crosara, the brand’s pastry art director, and his team.

Harrods is Marchesi’s second outpost in London. The brand has a café on Mount Street in Mayfair that serves coffee, aperitivi, chocolate and sweet and savory pastries.

Harrods is also home to the Prada Caffè, also on the store’s ground floor, which dishes up a variety of Italian specialties ranging from saffron risotto and crab linguine to pistachio tiramisù and hazelnut mousse chocolate cake.