Willie's chocolate bars spark buying hysteria
It is used by Michelin-starred chefs to perfect their signature dishes and was made famous on a prime-time television programme.
Now luxury bars of chocolate created by Willie Harcourt-Cooze are flying off the shelves in the West Midlands as soon as they arrive, with shoppers desperate to get their hands on a bar.
Willie, a Devon-based chocolatier, featured in Willie's Chocolate Revolution, the hit TV show that saw him produce chocolate from cacao beans grown on his Venezuelan plantation.
Renowned Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White apparently uses the chocolate in his restaurants.
Waitrose stores, including branches in Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and Lichfield, all stocked up on the chocolate bars last week.
But after Willie's Chocolate Revolution was aired on Channel Four on Tuesday, the bars cannot now be bought anywhere. David Sturman, the dry goods manager at the Lichfield branch of Waitrose, said today a "chocolate hysteria" had been created.
"We have none at the moment," he said. "We had two cases delivered last week and they flew off the shelves straight away."
The bars also sold out at the Wolverhampton store. Jason Carrara, dry food manager, said: "People are still asking for more."
