(Drum Roll…) And now Ladeez and Gentledudes, presenting the one and only… Ferrero Rondoir Dark Chocolates! Ta-dahh! (Cymbal Crash…)

You will have to exsqueeze me because I just spent 7.2 × 10¹² nanoseconds (two hours for the nanosecondly challenged out there) trying to come up with some sort of funny angle to talk about the nice little box of Ferrero chocolates I received in the mail.

I’ve had the normal Ferrero Rocher Chocolates before and They’re Great (a la Tony the Tiger), but I was just drawing a blank when it came to how to turn it into a Cheap Eats review.

I was going to try and work in a tennis match in there (Juan Carlos Ferrero) but I “served” up a bagel with that one. Haha. Pretty much after that I was done using my brain.

Man, I guess I’ll just present the boring facts: this is actually the new Ferrero Prestige confections assortment which comes in a handy easter egg shaped plastic case(4.8 oz of chocolates). This is rather nice for shipping as it seemed to protect the chocolate from getting damaged. The box contains three types including the newer Rondoir Dark chocolates (which they’re currently promoting on TV), the standard Rocher chocolates and the interesting white Garden Coco confections.

I was too lazy to cut them open, but if you’ve never had these Ferrero chocolates before they’re a bit different than your average chocolate truffle thingy. All of them are layer based: creamy chocolate filling holding a nut (or dark chocolate center) which is then encased in a crispy, egg shell - like wafer and coated in chocolate. The layers - it’s like a decadent Gobstopper or something.

The normal Rocher variety has a hazelnut center, chocolate cream, the wafer and then milk chocolate covered with chopped hazelnuts. The newer Rondoir has a “black pearl” of dark chocolate center surrounded by dark chocolate cream, then the wafer, topped off with dark chocolate bits. The Garden Coco has an almond center, coconut cream surrounded by the wafer and topped with a meringue and shredded coconut.

If you think this sounds way too frou-frou for Cheap Eats - well, you’re pretty much correct. I don’t think I ever would have bought this and for others it’s pretty much a gift you would receive more than anything. I can see everyone sitting in front of the computer saying - “What a Cheap Eats Loser, he calculates the price of making a loaf of soda bread to the nearest penny and then breaks the bank on expensive candy in the next post. Mayor of Loserville.”

However, if I ever get around to writing up the Cheap Eats manifesto that is still percolating in the noggin - the first rule (a la Fight Club) is going to be to break all the rules. And that means that no matter how much you’re skimping and saving, always find a way to indulge once in awhile - even if that’s spending ten bucks on chocolates. Life is just to short to be too grim and proper. Blah, blah - end of lecture… Sorry, I just had to justify eating these to myself.

The quality of the chocolates is pretty top notch - I liked all three about equally. The coconut one is definitely something different so it’s difficult to compare. But between the Rocher and the newer Rondoir, I might pick the latter one. It is a pretty intense little ball of chocolate. But the dark chocolate was really a winner with me. I was wondering what a cross between the two would have been like - a hazelnut center with dark chocolate cream, then dark chocolate on the outside but with hazel nut sprinkles instead of dark chocolate bits.

Ok - now to the bad part: prices. I’m actually unclear on how much the 12 chocolate Prestige assortment costs. But if you get just the Rondoir chocolates, retail is $1.09 for 1 ounce and $3.29 for 4.2 ounces. Ouch. Excuse me, while I sell off some of my Google stock. Ok, that’s better.

I really like these chocolates a lot and their quality for the price probably is pretty good. But it would be unfair to the cheaper chocolate makers to give them a high score on merit alone. The score below would have been a 2 if they weren’t so delicious. Well, don’t feel TOO bad for Ferrero - I read somewhere they were like the 62nd richest family in the world in 2007. How much dough do they have? Er, about 10 billion… and they also own the Nutella, Raffaello, Tic Tac and Kinder brands. Hm, that reminds me I need to get a review on here for Nutella…

Price: $3.29 for 4.2 ounce, Prestige pack price unknown
Found At: Sent in for Review
Cheap Eats Score: 5/10