Our story
In 2012 my brother Ashley passed away. He was only thirty years old.
We were devastated but my mother seemed to lose the will to live. My other brother and I were at a loss to know what to do. We told her that we were still here and we didn’t want to lose her. And that Ashley would want her to carry on.
One morning, Mum turned on the television to see people making chocolates. She decided she wanted to try doing it. She looked on eBay and found some chocolate moulds and bought bars of chocolate from Sainsburys (not really understanding anything about tempering). She melted the chocolate, lined the moulds and started to create chocolate fillings in her kitchen.
Mum found that when making chocolate she became immersed in the process. During those hours that was all she would think about. She must have bought every book she could find about making chocolates, watched videos on YouTube and, after a while, she was making the most delicious chocolates I had ever tasted.
Mum told me that the reason they tasted so good was because she only used the best, fresh ingredients. Strawberry creams were made in the summer using strawberries from our local farm shop. Mint chocolates were made with mint picked from our garden. She even used cream from a local dairy.
Mum stressed that her chocolates were made without using artificial preservatives. She told me that most chocolates contain additional sugars and preservatives to extend the shelf life. The problem with this was that it had an impact on the taste. She would rather have a shorter shelf life than sacrifice flavour.
I became curious and would watch Mum when she was making chocolates. I started learning and soon we decided that we needed a separate room in which to enjoy our hobby. We had a log cabin (with a fully fitted kitchen) built in the garden and we would spend hours in there. We still desperately missed my brother but during the time spent making chocolate we could put the pain to one side and focus entirely on what we were doing. I often think it was, and still is, a form of mindfulness. Our thoughts and senses become focused only on the task at hand and the results are wonderful.
Chocolate and Drinks Pairings
Very early on, we were fortunate to work with the fabulous whisky ambassador, Phil Huckle, who was then the brand ambassador for Pernod Ricard. We created chocolates to pair with a range of Glenlivet, Chivas and Scapa whisky. The chocolates were a resounding success, being enjoyed at luxury events with Rolls Royce, the British Academy and the Royal Automobile Club in St James’, to name a few of the events catered for. More recently, we created chocolates to pair with whiskies at a lavish event at the Hyde Park Barracks, home to the Household Cavalry.
We have also paired chocolates to match a range of gins and rums, holding events at the Merchant House Cocktail Bar in the City of London, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and HMS Victory.
To this day, we create chocolates to pair with whisky at the Soho Whisky Club and provide chocolates to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
If you would like to arrange a customised chocolate and drinks pairing experience, please contact us …
Chocolate Events
We delight in providing chocolate tasting experiences. Whether that is a chocolate tasting sampling different chocolate from around the world, or a chocolate pairing event, we create bespoke events to suit a range of budgets and customers.
We specialise in corporate events, coming into your place of work for deluxe tastings. We are also happy to run chocolate making workshops, allowing participants to create their own chocolates which are beautifully packaged for taking home (or eating on the way back as many don’t survive the journey home).
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us on …
Chocolate Sales
We make fresh, seasonal chocolates to order. Our minimum order is 200 chocolates with prices starting at £1.60 per piece. Please remember that we only use the finest ingredients and that each chocolate is made by hand. We are happy to provide you with a list of flavours which vary according to the season and the range of fresh ingredients available to us.
Chocolates can also be purchased from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Farringdon, London and…