Friars Blog

30/09/2018

Why Do We Give Sweets To Trick or Treaters?

Being based in the heart of the Lake District;  Autumn has got to be one of the treats of the year. The contrast of the browns and yellow against the mirrored lakes is breath taking. With the nights drawing in we start to focus our attention on Halloween and dare I say it Christmas! Ignoring the ‘C’ word for now; something that came up at Friars HQ today (over a salted caramel truffle) was where does the trick or treat tradition come from. After a lot of initial finger pointing... Read More

11/09/2018
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Christmas Sneak Peak

On writing this blog there was much discussion as to whether it was too early to bring up the C word. Well it is early but who doesn’t love a bit of Christmas. Plus we have been planning our offering since January so we are all confused! We are really into advent calendars here and why wouldn’t we be? It’s a great excuse to consume chocolate on a daily basis and first thing in the morning. What other time of the year could you get away with that?! Our liqueur... Read More

26/08/2018

Unusual Chocolate

We believe being different is good in life, so why not in chocolate? Whether it’s an unusual chocolate flavour or different chocolate shape we will always give it a go. Here are some of out favorite ‘different’ chocolates and we just love them. Dark Cherry Liqueur Chocolate  Now it’s not everyday that you a get a stalk and a cherry stone in your chocolate, but it just works. This is a chocolate with a real kick of Kirsch liqueur combined beautifully with rich dark chocolate. Lego Brick Chocolate Well you can... Read More

31/07/2018
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The Rise And Rise Of Craft Beer

If you’d said the initials “IPA” to a barman 10 years ago, he might well have looked at you blankly as IPA in general, was a niche market. Since 2010, however, things have changed. Craft beer pubs are everywhere and their success has forced existing pubs to up their game. Bar staff now are positively evangelical about beer. Spearheading this revival is IPA – not weedy old Greene King – but beers of 5-7% packed with hops and flavour. So what is IPA? The initials stand for India pale ale. It... Read More

20/07/2018

What Is No Added Sugar Chocolate?

We are seeing an increase demand for no added sugar or sugar free chocolate, but what actually is it? There are some misconceptions in regards to the belief that it is zero sugar chocolate. This is not the case as there are small amounts of naturally occurring sugars in cocoa. How it maintains that beautiful sweet chocolate flavour but with less sugar, is the use of sweeteners maltitol and steviol glycosides.   The plant Stevia rebaudiana has been used for more than 1,500 years in South America and is 300... Read More

03/07/2018

5 Gifts For Teachers (That they actually want)

It takes a special person to be a teacher, so when term ends it’s always nice to give them a little thank you gift. One of our team members here at Friars HQ has been married to a teacher for the last 12 years. Their words of wisdom are that ‘you just can’t go wrong with chocolate’. We may be a little biased but it seem like fantastic advise to us! Coffee Collection Teachers are well know for having a liking for coffee (and chocolate) so here is the perfect... Read More

22/06/2018
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Teaming Up With The Lakes Distillery

The Lakes Distillery opened in December 2014 on its idyllic rural site near Bassenthwaite. They produce their own fabulous Lakes malt, Lakes gin and Lakes vodka all on one site. Using water that flows from Sprinkling Tarn, through Keswick, Bassenthwaite past the distillery and then onto the Irish sea. The distillery is based at a refurbished model farm. The main barn houses the mash house and still house, with unique stills carefully designed to produce the spirits on a small artisan scale. An old cattle shed has been converted into... Read More

21/06/2018

The Lake District Pound

The Lake District Pound (LD£) is our region’s new local currency – designed to celebrate everything you love about this place, and help keep our region special.   We will be accepting the Lake District pound in our shops when it launches. £1, £5, £10 and £20 Lake District notes will be exchanged one for one with sterling, but can only be spent in participating businesses that are locally owned, trade locally and were either founded in, or unique to the area. Lake District Pounds can be spent, respent, or... Read More

07/06/2018
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Father’s Day Gift Guide 2018

We see this day as an opportunity to spoil the men in our lives (whether they deserve it or not!). It’s all too common for our dads to refuse a gift or say that they’re happy with anything, so we’ve created our Father’s Day gift guide to help you all out. We love that there’s a day carved out just for the leading men in our lives and we want to show them just how much we love them. This year we’ve included gifts for every type of dad. From... Read More

13/05/2018
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Win 100 Chocolates of Your Choice

This is quite possibly our greatest competition ever! We are giving you the chance to win 100 chocolates of your choice from our taster collection. Will you choose our new brownie chocolate? Or maybe our kirsch soaked dark chocolate cherry liqueurs. Perhaps two of every flavour…the possibilities are endless! It’s FREE and easy to enter all you need to do is CLICK HERE and subscribe to our newsletter. With new data protection laws in place later this month, we need your permission to stay in touch in a way that... Read More