Don’t get the wrong end of the stick – Dormouse Chocolates is not a new recipe I dreamt up as a means of adding a cocoa content to Apicius’s classic stuffed rodent recipe, as documented in his eponymous Roman cookbook. Nor does it refer to novelty mice moulded from cheap couverture. Nope: it’s actually the rather unlikely brand name of a Manchester-based bean-to-bar chocolate company.

Founder Isobel is a trained chocolatier with a skillful mastery of her materials and an eye for quirky design. Her silk-smooth, full-flavoured chocolate is variously moulded into Lego-like bars or imprinted with feather patterns; easy on the eye and excellent in the eating. Truffles are as interesting, with past and present flavours in the ever-evolving range including gin & violet, peanut butter, raspberry & crushed pretzel, craft beer caramels, and cherry & pecan discs.

Two Dormouse-s turn up on my doorstep looking for a home, and I’m only too pleased to welcome…