Chocolates Fit for a Dame: Russell & Atwell on Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen

Russell & Atwell was delighted to appear as one of Dame Prue Leith’s Food Heroes on Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen — Series 3, Episode 9, with Mariella Frostrup.

It was a slightly surreal but thoroughly enjoyable chance to show viewers what makes our fresh, chilled chocolate different: proper ingredients, genuine chocolate-making and an uncompromising amount of tasting.
The episode is available on ITVX, and you can find us from around the 36-minute mark.

A peek into our kitchen

The cameras got a real glimpse behind the scenes at Russell & Atwell: where fresh chocolate is made with the sort of ingredients you might happily find in a very good home kitchen.

There are whole sticks of organic butter, generous amounts of organic Cotswolds cream, sustainably sourced cocoa, wildflower honey and a pinch of Dorset sea salt. We combine them in small batches to create the soft, rich centres at the heart of every Russell & Atwell chocolate.

The result is a different sort of chocolate experience. Straight from the fridge, the centre begins with a slow, cool, creamy melt, then opens up into deep cocoa flavour and a long, lingering finish. It is indulgent without being cloying: rich enough to feel like a proper treat, but clean enough that you want to reach straight back into the pack.

 

Fresh cream and butter are central to that texture. Rather than leaving the waxy coating associated with palm-oil-based fillings, they create a smooth melt that feels luxuriously creamy, before leaving the palate clear for the chocolate flavour to linger. That is why our chocolates are delivered chilled and kept in the fridge — and why they are very rarely still there six weeks later.

Getting close to 8/10

The programme also captured a real tasting session with our chocolatier and co-founder, Steve Russell.

In the episode, Steve gets very close to the elusive 8/10. At Russell & Atwell, that is the point at which a flavour has real balance: the richness, the creaminess, the cocoa and the final flavour note all work together, with enough character to be memorable and enough restraint to make you want another.

But the work did not quite end when filming did.
The episode was filmed in October last year, and Steve carried on refining the recipe after the cameras left. Eventually, we got there — and the result was our Passion Fruit fresh chocolate, launched for Valentine’s Day earlier this year.

Bright passion fruit gives the chocolate a lively lift, while the creamy centre delivers the long, luxurious melt that makes it unmistakably Russell & Atwell. It is a good example of the slightly obsessive process behind every new flavour: make it, taste it, adjust it, taste it again, and only then let it out into the world.

Fresh chocolate on television

We are hugely grateful to Dame Prue, the production team and Yeti Media for featuring us — and for making our chocolates look so good on screen.

The timing was kind, too. The day the programme aired became our best trading day of the year so far. Nothing close to the famous Dragons’ Den effect, perhaps, but a very welcome boost for a small British chocolate business.

It came during a busy summer. We are now +75% year to date, despite repeated heatwaves testing a company that makes fresh, chilled chocolate. The momentum we took into summer, along with a considerable quantity of ice packs, helped us through the hottest days.
Even more encouragingly, normally quieter August is within touching distance of our record December 2025. We are feeling very excited about Q4, gifting season and the next stage of Russell & Atwell.

Watch the episode

Watch Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen, Series 3, Episode 9 with Mariella Frostrup, on ITVX. We appear from approximately 36 minutes in.

Discover Russell & Atwell fresh chocolates: made with organic Cotswolds cream and butter, delivered across the UK, and best enjoyed chilled.