I’ve often wondered what it must’ve been like for Charlie when he first step foot inside Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Until now, it was something of an enigma.

We were recently invited to attend Max Brenner’s 10th Anniversary Choctail Party which took place at their headquarters in Beaconsfield.

As the clocked ticked 7:30pm, we hopped out of the car and rushed to the door. Our names were checked off and we ascended the stairs trying to hold back our excited giggles. As we reached the top, all we could see, smell and hear was chocolate.

Chocolate, chocolate, everywhere, in all its wondrous forms.

We were first greeted with shots of liquid chocolate, which churned on in background in two giant drums. Nearby were plates of fruit, banana bread and marshmallows free for the taking.

As we made our way inside, we were invited to write a birthday message in liquefied chocolate on a giant wall-sized canvas.

Towards the back of the room, there was a station to create your own chocolate truffles, although it was clear to us that Max Brenner’s in-house range was hard to beat, each sporting smooth tops and luscious praline centres.

Nearby, guests were squaring off in a game of checkers using nothing but Max Brenner pralines for board pieces. What could be more motivating to ‘check’ your opponent!

I also spotted a couple of open fire light fixtures around the room. Each had a round opening in the glass, which looked like they’d be perfect for roasting sticks of marshmallows. Sadly, I had too many eyes on my back to try.

The real standout for us were the cocktails. We ordered the Chocolate Revolution, which was Frangelico shaken with milk chocolate and chambord. This drink was ice chocolate gold – the hint of black raspberry from the chambord really brings the chocolate alive. Other flavours included Enjoy the Max (Baileys with a hint of coffee, milk chocolate and espresso) and The Paddington 2000 (Bacardi with muddled lime, fresh mint and raw sugar).

Could a Max Brenner cocktail bar be on the cards?

Then there was the treatment room, where hand massages were being dolled out to anxious and willing guests. I was treated to relaxing hand massage using Max Brenner’s BODY range, which smelled divine. The girl tells me my hands were tense and overworked… no surprise there!

All through the night, Max Brenner staff were passing around plates of rice paper rolls and dumplings by Miss Chu as well as pastries created by Max Brenner’s resident patisserie chef Jean-Marc Masset.

The cafe was also pumping out cups of hot chocolate and coffee, just in case you weren’t already buzzing from all the sugar.

While we didn’t stay long enough for the birthday cake, we hear it was a four tiered beauty standing at 1.4 metres high. It was made up of three decadent chocolate cherry mousse cakes topped with an amazing croquembouche cone.

Our time at the Max Brenner party restored our faith in the brand. We’ve been led astray by dissapointing service at times but seeing Max Brenner at its best is really comforting. Now we know that what Max Brenner can do with chocolate, they do so tremendously well.

For more info about Max Brenner, log onto www.maxbrenner.com.au.