Georgian Chocolate Kitchen Discovered

Imagine having your own chocolate maker and your own chocolate kitchen filled with the latest modern cooking equipment including items made of expensive porcelain, copper, and silver, all just for making chocolate? This would be the height of elegance and decadence, would it not?

Well, during the reigns of kings William III, George I, and George II there was just such a kitchen in the Fountain Court of the Hampton Court Palace.

"The 18th-century chocolate kitchen is well preserved, with many of its original fittings, including the stove and furniture, still intact." The interior has been carefully restored as well as period-appropriate bespoken ceramics, glassware, silver, and cooking implements have been stocked.

After nearly 300 years, the doors will open on February 14 (when else?) to "host live Georgian chocolate-making sessions, showcasing the complex processes involved in the making of the [royal chocolate] drink."