ST201904

(^1) Welcome to the
houseoffun:York
Cocoa House.
(^2) Artisan chocolatiers
pride themselves on
the best ingredients.
(^3) The beautiful and
vibrant Prestat shop in
London’s Piccadilly
(audreyschocolates.co.uk), appears to be
avillagechocolateshop,wheninfactthe
entire building – all five floors of it – is
dedicatedtomakingchocolates,manyof
themforFortnum&Mason’s.Audrey’s
original owner, William Pain, used to run
thechocolatefactoryinFortnum’s(which
operated from 1928 until 1939) and his
original recipe is still used for the griottes
(hand-dipped cherries soaked in brandy).
TEMPER, TEMPER
Everyoneknowstherealjoyofchocolateis
intheeating–orevenbetter,inthemaking
ofit:lickingthespoon,dreamingup
flavours,learningtotemperitsoithasthat
glossysheenandperfect‘snap’.Happily,
manychocolatiersofferatemptingrange
of workshops, tastings and even chocolate
parties. Chococo in Dorset (chococo.co.uk)
isknownforitsfinechocolatesmadewith
localingredients,fromgorseflowersin
spring to blue vinny cheese. Coco
ChocolatierinEdinburgh(cocochocolatier.
com)specialisesinbeautifullypackaged
single origin bars, and its chocolate school
daycoverseverythingfromcaramelsto
truffles.InCongresbury,nearBristol,The
ChocolateTart(thechocolatetart.co.uk)
offers, among others, a retro workshop
featuring peppermint creams, peanut cups
and orangettes.
ONES TO WATCH/MUNCH
‘Bean to bar’ is the buzzword of the day
with artisan, small-batch chocolate makers
seeking out the finest beans, grown,
fermented and dried to perfection, which
they then roast, shell, grind, mature, conch
(a smoothing process), temper and mould
themselves. Often consisting of cacao from
a single country, or a single estate, mixed
with only sugar and cocoa butter, the
emphasis is on bringing out the f lavour and
complexity of the cacao beans. Suffolk
bakers-cum-chocolate makers Pump Street
Chocolate (pumpstreetchocolate.com) is
well worth a visit, both for its toothsome
range and its tours and tastings at its
Rendlesham factory.
Another newcomer to watch is
Camarthenshire’s NomNom (nomnom.
cymru), founded in 2013 by sparky Liam
Burgess, then aged 20. A self-confessed
chocoholic, he is crowdfunding to rebuild a
derelict chocolate factory in his hometown
of Llanboidy, offering chocolate bricks to
his backers. Visitors can tour the slightly
eerie factory, choose from one of the 4,132
moulds Burgess found there, and make and
decorate their own ‘edible sculpture’. Willy
Wonka would surely approve.
“The joy of chocolate is
in the eating, or even
better, in the making of it:
licking the spoon,
dreaming up f lavours”
DIY raw chocolate
The cocoa equivalent of home brew
60g raw cacao butter
50g raw cacao powder
2–4 tbsp fruit syrup
1 Place a clean bowl over a saucepan
of hot water, ensuring the base of the
bowl does not touch the water.
2 Grate the cacao butter, add to the
bowl and allow to melt slowly. Don’t
keep the water boiling, turn off the
heat and just give it a quick blast
every so often if necessary.
3 Once melted, add the cacao
powder and stir in thoroughly with a
balloon whisk or fork, until it starts to
thicken slightly. The chocolate should
still be runny and easy to pour.
4 Add 1 tbsp of fruit syrup and stir
in thoroughly. Taste, and add more
syrup to taste, ½ tbsp at a time,
mixing thoroughly and tasting after
each addition.
5 When the mixture suits your taste,
take the bowl off the pan and gently
pour into a mould. Set in the fridge
for at least 1 hour.
Recipe and all ingredients available at
elementsforlife.co.uk.
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ESCAPE (^) | OUTING
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