I have a confession to make. I’m a chocoholic. But somehow, inexcusably, I hadn’t heard about the famous Duxton chocolate buffet until a few weeks ago. A chocolate buffet that I haven’t been to? This was a challenge too big to pass up. I had to try it.

The annual Duxton Chocolate Buffet at The Grill in the Duxton is now in its 10th year, and to say it is a chocoholic’s heaven is an understatement. If you have a sweet tooth or enjoy chocolate in any way, you really must go.

We turned up on Sunday night with empty stomachs. After admiring the amazing chocolate sculptures that greet you as you enter, we got down to business.

The room is set up with several ‘stations’ where you can help yourself to whatever sweet treats you fancy. The main buffet station has platters of spectacular desserts which are replenished constantly. There is a crepe station with a person serving you up crepes with whatever toppings you choose – Cream? Sauce? Almond flakes? Choc sprinkles? Why yes, don’t mind if I do.

Then there is the piece de resistance, the chocolate fondue fountain. Again, I cannot believe I have never used one of these before. They are just the bees knees and we had heaps of fun dipping our skewers of fruit & marshmallows into the flowing chocolately goodness.

My favourites were White Chocolate Martini, the White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake and the Mars Bar Crème Brulee. Talk about decadant! Mmmm.

There are different ways to approach the buffet. If you’re like me you’ll aim to try everything that takes your fancy, even if it means not finishing some so that you can fit more in. Some diners in our groups preferred to take it easy with plenty of fruit in between chocolate dishes, while others picked a few choice items and finished them off completely. Between the four of us, we reckoned we tried about three quarters of the menu.

There are a few traps for the unwary too. The super-efficient waiters clear your dirty dishes constantly so if you want to keep your cutlery, don’t leave it on your plate. And beware the exploding truffles – when biting into a Hazelnut Frangelico Truffle, the whole thing exploded in my face. With the amount of chocolate all over my face I looked, as my friend remarked, like I had actually been to a chocolate buffet.

At $25 each we definitely got our money’s worth – for half that you could get one fancy dessert at a restaurant like this, and yet we got the equivalent of around eight desserts. Now that’s value for money.

The Duxton Chocolate Buffet is on daily at The Grill from 5.30pm until 8 August. It costs $24.95 per adult, $17 per child and $17 if already dining (but I’d like to see you try to fit this in after a full meal). Bookings are essential, call The Grill on 04 471 5711 to reserve your place.

Wotzon.com is giving away a voucher for 2 people to the Chocolate Buffet – enter here. Competition closes 29 July.

Left: White Chocolate Margarita, Chocolate & Raspberry Marquise, Chocolate & Cream Cheese Brownie and White Milk & Dark Chocolate Terrine. Right: Mars Bar Creme Brulee and White Chocolate & Strawberry Cheesecake