Today is National Chocolate Day and if there’s one thing we can unite and all get behind, it’s a love of chocolate, right?
We really hope you said yes to that.
National Chocolate Day couldn’t be a more perfect excuse to properly treat yourself, so if you’re looking to mark this indulgent day in style this year, then there’s plenty of ways to get involved here in Manchester, or right from the comfort of your own home.
Here’s a few of the best products, workshops, courses and hampers that we’ve found online.
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Chocolate Making Workshop
Manchester
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Fancy feeling like a master chocolatier with this incredible chocolate workshop for two?
Right from a central Manchester location, you can be tutored by professionals in the delicate art of piping, cutting, dipping and decorating chocolate. The day will start with a fascinating history lesson, before you taste a wonderful selection of hand-crafted chocolates and then have a go at creating your own personalised giant chocolate button and scrumptious fresh-cream truffles that you can take home as a fabulous memento of the day.
There’s currently a special offer running on this workshop, meaning it’s available to book for just £70 (for two people) on BuyAGift.co.uk, and if you’re looking for something extra special, you can upgrade to a ‘Luxury Workshop’ for a further £20 too, so it’s definitely worth taking advantage of whilst you can.
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Any bookings will be valid for 10 months.
You can find out more and book on to the Chocolate Making Workshop – Manchesterhere.
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Online Chocolate Making Course
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If you were intrigued by the above workshop, but would much prefer to become a master chocolatier from the comfort of your own home, then this engaging course will teach you how to make your own delicious chocolates online instead.
You will get to delve into the fascinating history of this indulgent sweet treat, as well as learn to make and decorate your own chocolate truffles. This online experience will also teach you the art of tempering chocolate, the secrets to perfecting and layering caramel, how to mould chocolate, make elegant chocolate bars and more.
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If you want top tips and advice for making chocolate to a professional standard in your own kitchen, then this is the course for you.
This virtual one-to-one course is now available to book via BuyAGift.co.uk for £25.
You can find out more and book on to the Online Chocolate Making Coursehere.
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Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza
PrezzyBox
Sure, the smooth, creamy loveliness of chocolate isn’t really the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pizza.
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But who says that combining two great foods doesn’t create perfection?
This Make Your Own Chocolate Pizza kit comes with everything you need to create your very own chocolatey masterpiece. All you’ll need to do is melt the delicious chocolate buttons and pour the molten goodness into the base mould, then sprinkle it with some creamy white chocolate ‘cheese’, add chocolate beans, jelly beans or anything else you might have onto your pizza base to create a heavenly treat made to order.
It’s retailing at £12.99 + delivery on PrezzyBox and you can get your hands on it here.
Prefer to treat yourself to a slice without all the hassle of making it yourself first? Don’t worry, there’s also a pre-made 10″ Chocolate Pizza on PrezzyBox too that looks just as indulgent.
PrezzyBox
This Chocolate Pizza is perfect for anyone who’s partial to a few chocolates every now again, or for someone who’s a full blown chocoholic. The ‘pizza’ base is made from the finest Belgium chocolate, topped with all sorts of delicious treats from vanilla fudge and white chocolate curls, to jelly beans, raspberry pieces and chocolate orange slices.
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Basically, you can’t really go wrong with it.
It’s retailing at just £15.99+ delivery and you can get your hands on it from PrezzyBox here.
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Chocolate Letterbox Hamper
Prezzybox
There’s only one thing better than a chocolate bar – a hamper that’s ‘chocked’ full of it, and if there’s only one thing better than a hamper full of chocolate, it’s a hamper full of chocolate that can be delivered right to your front door.
The ultimate indulgence.
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This Chocolate Lover Letterbox Hamper features a selection of artisan chocolate treats that are perfect for any sweet-tooth, including x1 Willie’s Cacao Milk Of The Gods Rio Caribe Chocolate Bar, x2 Monty Bo Jangles Nutty Truffles, x1 Brodericks Nutty Crunchie Caramel Munchie, x1 Gnaw Fudge Crunch Chocolate Bar, x1 Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Co. Chocolate Coffee, x1 Great British Biscotti Chunky Belgian Choc and x1 Hiederegger Marzipan Stick ‘N’ Go.
It’s retailing at £17.99+ delivery and you can get your hands on it from PrezzyBox here.
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Personalised Cadbury Hamper
Prezzybox
There really isn’t a more appropriate way to mark National Chocolate Day than with a hamper full of Cadbury’s chocolate, right?
Even better – a personalised Cadbury Chocolate Hamper.
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The hamper contains x5 Dairy Milk bars, x1 Wispa bar, x1 Twirl, x1 Crunchie, x1 Dairy Milk Caramel bar, x1 Double Decker bar, x1 carton of Cadbury Heroes, x1 box of Milk Tray, x1 pack of Oreo biscuits, x1 pack of Golden Oreo biscuits and x1 Toblerone.
Praise the chocolate Gods.
It’ll set you back £29.99+ delivery and you can get your hands this Personalised Cadbury Hamper from PrezzyBox here.
Trending
Bolton Wanderers sign young Celtic striker on loan
Danny Jones
Bolton Wanderers have signed young Celtic forward Johnny Kenny on loan for the rest of the season, rounding off a busy January transfer window with a final bit of business on deadline day.
All told, that’s seven new arrivals brought in this month as the League One side looks to continue their promotion push.
The Republic of Ireland international Johnny Kenny is just the latest among a number of offensive reinforcements, with Steven Schumacher looking to both increase his side’s goal output and further shore up the defence.
Still just 22, Kenny has already shown plenty of potential back in the Scottish Premiership, and now the fans will see how he takes to life in the English third tier.
Already scoring six times and registering a couple of assists in 22 appearances across all competitions so far this campaign, the Sligo-born striker is just a couple of contributions away from chipping in with his best overall tally in the league over a full term.
His best senior spell overall came on loan in the Republic of Ireland, where he scored a baker’s dozen of goals and assisted three times for Shamrock Rovers.
While perhaps not the most competitive league, he’s certainly taken some of that form back to his parent club in 2025/26, and now Celtic will get an even better sense of where his level is at right now – as will Bolton Wanderers.
Addressing the supporters deal in a club statement, Schumacher said: “We’re delighted to have signed Johnny to continue a really strong month. He is a player who we rate very highly and is someone we identified last summer as someone who would really strengthen our attacking options.
“He’s since played regularly and scored goals at a high level, so [he] will be a big addition for us. We didn’t think he would be available during this window, but once we were made aware Celtic would allow him to leave on loan, we acted really quickly to get the deal done.”
With other acquisitions such as attacking midfielder Ruben Rodrigues and winger Corey Blackett-Taylor, who has already scored on his debut, there’s suddenly some real squad depth to draw from.
As for Kenny, the promising youngster has every intention of quickly becoming the main man at the Toughsheet Stadium, taking on the number nine shirt.
Speaking in his first full interview as a Trotter, Kenny admitted that the interest has been there for some time and that the deal has been a longer process than the eleventh-hour nature might suggest, but reiterated that Bolton “reached out to [him] a lot during the summer.”
He’s made it clear that his aim is not only to increase his regular first-team minutes but also to make sure he is well and truly in the final national team picture.
Ireland are yet to find out if they qualify for the 2026 World Cup – pending a tricky playoff tie this March – but Kenny clearly wants to make sure there’s no doubt in terms of selection should they make it through the challenge.
Elsewhere in the EFL, another big attacking loan deal was done by local promotion rivals Stockport County, who have managed re-sign Louie Barry for a third spell.
Louie Barry returns to Stockport County for a third loan spell
Danny Jones
One of the most popular Stockport County stars, whether that be a permanent player or a loan signing, has returned to the club by popular demand: Hatters, rejoice, because Louie Barry is back at Edgeley Park.
In one of the most heavily rumoured January transfer deals of this window, Aston Villa youngster academy product Louie Barry has been confirmed for a third County stint, getting reacquainted with Stockport on deadline day.
Having come through not only Barcelona’s famous ‘La Masia’ system, but West Brom’s youth setup and then Aston Villa, his most successful spells of senior football have come at the Greater Manchester club.
Parent club Villa recalled him only to send the youth prospect back out on two other lacklustre loans (much to the disappointment of County supporters), but now he’s going back to well, and is hopefully set for a return to form. Unveiled in a dramatic video at the local Plaza Theatre, fans are already buzzing.
Who doesn’t love a bit of old-fashioned paegantry, eh?
Still just 22 years old, Louie Barry remains highly rated by his foremost employers, but has had few opportunities to try and impress his parent club.
Barring a handful of cup appearances, the Sutton-born attacking midfielder – often deployed as a winger during his two previous terms – the majority of his professional minutes have been with County.
His second visit to the then-League Two side was even better than his first, and all told, he scored 25 goals in 45 games, not to mention more than a dozen assists across his appearances off the bench and an increasing number of starts as he became an increasing talisman in the team.
Unfortunately, one thing that has been consistent throughout his professional career thus far is struggles with injuries, which have certainly derailed his last two loan deals to Hull City and Sheffield United.
It remains to be seen whether he is at the level of the Championship or beyond, but with the now third-tier outfit currently chasing promotion, this may prove to be the perfect test.
Should be able to stay fit, it goes without saying that he’ll quickly knit back into the first-team squad, and with fellow fan favourite Isaac ‘Tanto’ Olaofe having also been re-signed on a half-season loan deal, it’s been a popular period of recruitment overall.
Pair these deals with the signing of Adama Sidibeh, and suddenly, manager Dave Challinor has some real strength in depth when it comes to offensive options.
What do you make of the acquisition, Hatters? Will three prove to be the magic number, and could another promising visit to SK3 be the start of a potential permanent deal somewhere down the line?
You can see Louie Barry’s first full interview back as a Stockport County player down below.
Barry is aiming to be back fit soon, though it’s unclear if there is an option to buy in the contract.
Emily Sergeant -
7th July 2020 
