Feast It spoke to The Chocolate Cocktail Club, one of our totally unique mobile bars, run by chocoholics and fitness fanatics, Rachel and Holly. This premium mobile bar came from a passion for chocolate and was created with a collaboration of creativity, ambition and enthusiasm.

Who are you and where do you come from?

We are Holly and Rachel, otherwise known as The Chocolate Cocktail Club! Rachel is from Scotland, but was born in the midlands (she’s got a pretty confusing accent…) and Holly is from North West London, which is where we both live now.

Holly and Rachel met in a bar in Dalston through a mutual friend… three years later, Rachel proposed to Holly on a beach in Greece. They are getting married on the 1st June 2019, exactly two years after they got engaged. They will, of course, have The Chocolate Cocktail Club at their wedding!

What were you doing before The Chocolate Cocktail Club?

Rachel started her career as an actress (I told you she’s ambitious) and moved from Sunny Scotland to London with the dream to ‘make it big’. In need of additional funds, she shifted into the corporate world. Rachel is lactose intolerant, which encouraged the idea to make ‘Halo Coco’, a coconut milkshake in the fast moving consumer goods industry. Rachel knows the drinks industry inside out and how tough it can be.

Unfortunately, after two years in a very competitive market, Halo Coco was brought to a close, bringing on a brand new, exciting and alcoholic adventure: The Chocolate Cocktail Club. We have taken the lessons we learned from Halo Coco and adapted them for our new venture.

I have the gift of the gab and have always loved sales and promotions. I worked in bars and clubs before moving into events and organising private parties for high end clients. Events come naturally to me! We often have the help of best friend Kim, who is a brilliant hostess.
# “We are both chocoholics but also fitness fanatics, so the temptation of our own cocktails is very hard to resist.”

Where did you get the idea for The Chocolate Cocktail Club?

The idea for The Chocolate Cocktail Club was sparked from a recent holiday to Las Vegas. Rachel found a chocolate cocktail bar in one of the big hotels and finally forced me into sharing a cocktail with her, which turned into five…

The menu at the chocolate bar in Vegas was mouthwatering, with all the best ingredients to make these heavenly drinks, garnished with yet more chocolate to top it all off. We sat there together and chatted to other guests who were visiting from all over the world… pre-show drinks, couples, honeymooners and groups of friends who all knew the bar and how good a chocolate cocktail tasted.

It didn’t take long for us to question, ‘why have we not found this in the UK?’ and with Rachel’s entrepreneurial mind in full steam and Holly’s sales strategies all drawn up, our heads started to explode with ideas, concepts, branding, pop-ups and events. We immediately started our research, bought a mobile bar, became certified license holders and The Chocolate Cocktail Club was born!

# “We have put our heads (and hearts) together, using Rachel’s creative flair and my enthusiasm for sales and we would like to think that we’re a great team!”

Holly and Rachel have a mobile bar which they take to weddings, corporate events, private events, launch parties and VIP areas at festivals. The response to their business has been really positive, with numerous bookings for celebrity birthdays, weddings, exclusive parties, as well as recently serving up their decadent cocktails at a party hosted by one of ‘The Real Housewives of Cheshire’.

We asked Rachel and Holly to tell us about their mouthwatering menu…

Their cocktails are created from a number of chocolate inspired blends, including the ‘Clockwork Orange’, ‘A Touch of Baileys’, ‘Bananarama’, ‘Mocha-Madness’ and ‘The Chocolatini’. If you don’t have a super sweet tooth, Holly and Rachel also serve prosecco, Bellinis, bottled beer, Aperol Spritz and wine! ‘The After Eight O’Clock’ is super popular, with its eye-catching, mint green appearance and memorable flavour. If you love an After Eight, you will love this one.
# “We've even had guests licking the glasses!”

This whole journey has been a completely new experience for both of us, and sourcing the best ingredients has been the toughest part. We’ve tried many recipes to make sure our drinks are divine, sourcing everything from Chocolate vodka to mint liqueurs, taking allergies and intolerances into account. Rachel is lactose and gluten intolerant, so I have to make sure everything gets approved by the boss!

When it comes to our cocktails, we genuinely love them all! Tasting and experimenting isn’t a job to us, we love it. We garnish each glass to compliment each cocktail, whether it’s salted caramel, chocolate sauce or simply a flake on top!

What does the future look like for your business?

We hit a big milestone this year after only trading for 7 months, by hiring a bar in Covent Garden, which will be hosting The Chocolate Cocktail Club pop-up in August for four, chocolatey weeks. We wanted to give people the change to pop in for one or two drinks without the cost of hiring the whole bar.
# “We hope to have started a new craze and franchise opportunities will hopefully be on the horizon soon for us.”

Interesting in hiring The Chocolate Cocktail Club? Holly and Rachel’s bar serves are available up to 80 miles from London, but if you are further afield you should still get in touch as they are always keen for everyone to experience their cocktails if it’s possible! If you live in London, make sure you head to No Such Place, 68A Neal Street, Covent Garden between Wednesday 15th August and Sunday 9th September to try The Chocolate Cocktail Club! Tickets are available via www.thechocolatecocktailclub.co.uk.