Real-life Willy Wonka shipping designer chocolates to coronavirus victims, healthcare workers

Victoria Beckham's favourite chocolate maker will spend weeks shipping his designer treats to coronavirus victims and stressed healthcare workers around the world.

Pierre Marcolini - renowned as a real-life Willy Wonka - has been forced by the Covid-19 pandemic to shut his shops in London, Paris and Brussels.

Instead of allowing his masses of new stock to go to waste, the Belgian chocolate maker has dispatched boxes of his posh sweets to hospitals in the three cities.

Hospitals in London received their first delivery of boxes of Pierre Marcolini chocolates on March 19, worth up to £134 ($227) each.

And sets of chocolates were dispatched to medics and patients in Brussels on March 20. Pastries and Easter-themed chocolate sets were also included.

A spokeswoman for Pierre, 56, said: "Offering chocolates does not seem essential, but it is an undeniable comfort.

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"This is all the more important in this difficult period for everyone, but especially for the extraordinary hospital staff who are experiencing probably one of the most difficult times of our lives.

"The Pierre Marcolini House wishes to support the national effort and the caregivers who are mobilised every day to fight against the Covid-19 epidemic during the coming weeks."

Pierre has developed chocolates for Yves Saint Laurent and has 40 stores across London, Paris, Dubai, Brussels, and Tokyo.

His most famous collection came in 2018 when he launched a chocolate collaboration with Victoria Beckham.

She launched her limited-edition box of 16 heart-shaped, low-sugar chocolates - which retailed at £35 - in 2018.

In an innuendo-laden video to mark the launch, the former Spice Girl quoted Forrest Gump and said she got a kick from making her chocolate frothier than anyone else's.

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Scrubbing down the surfaces, Victoria proclaimed: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

The clip then cut to the former Spice Girl voicing concerns that her mixture wasn't looking quite as smooth as Pierre's, quipping: "I'm whisking. I've noticed mine's much more frothy than yours."

After he advised her to adopt a more gentle approach, Victoria cheekily retorted: "I was a bit too rampant."

Pierre prides himself on meticulously sourcing ingredients from local producers, with his chocolates made from the finest of cocoa beans. Mandarin pulp and passion fruit vinegar are among the other exotic ingredients used.

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