All About Fine Chocolate by Cat Black

  • A visit to The Winchester Cocoa Company

    August 30, 2016

    I took time to visit Chris Attewell in his shiny new chocolate den, and was amply rewarded!

    winchester cocoa box

    For my last post I brought you an interview with one of the new band of micro-batch bean to bar chocolate makers that are excitingly growing in number in the UK. Equally exciting to me is discovering chocolatiers and pastry chefs with understanding and sensitivity, who recognise chocolate’s full potential and are making the most of it. One such chocolatier is Chris Attewell, founder of The Winchester Cocoa Company. Chris launched his business in October 2014,...

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  • Dormouse Chocolates – an interview with its creator

    July 26, 2016

    Bean to bar chocolate in Manchester! Here is my interview with the lovely Isobel from Dormouse Chocolates.

    Isobel at a fair.

    Last month I attended the level 1 and level 2 courses run by The Institute of Chocolate Tasting, the brainchild of Martin Christy, Monica Meschini and Maricel Presilla (founding partners of The International Chocolate Awards). These courses are now officially accredited and an exceptional way to gain knowledge, as well as qualifications, in chocolate. I will write about them fully in a future post. I reference them here as the experience showed me what an...

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  • Sex, Drugs & Chocolate!

    June 28, 2016

    Just a little update this month on things you might want to be eating, and books you might want to be reading or cooking from.

    Bake Off Cover sized

    Dear Readers A short break in the chocolate schedule to bring you a reminder about the books I mentioned last summer that have been keeping me so busy. I hope you have been enjoying the interviews with wonderful chocolate people, and more importantly that you have enjoyed some of their delicious creations! I have more great interviews on the way over the coming months. If you are in the UK you might well want to know the...

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  • Peter Svenningsen – chocolate purist.

    May 24, 2016

    A thrilling Scandinavian chocolatier making waves on the world stage. A trip to Denmark never looked more enticing.

    Blueberry, Rosemary, Olive OilYuzu

    In a few short years Peter Svenningsen has gone from chocolate hobbyist, to fine chocolatier working exclusively with one of the best chocolate makers on the planet. With his clean approach, and thrillingly showcasing Mikkel Friis Holm's chocolate, Peter has not only come to my attention, but has been winning awards by the handful at the International Chocolate Awards in both his Scandinavian heats and at the World Finals. In the recent 2016 Scandinavian heats he...

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  • The Chocolate Tree – Making chocolate bean to bar in Scotland.

    April 26, 2016

    Glorious packaging encases bars from The Chocolate Tree - a bean to bar maker in Scotland that you will want to know about.

    I first met Ali and Friederike, chocolate makers behind The Chocolate Tree, at Chocolate Unwrapped in London in 2012. Already chocolatiers, with a stand at the event, they were embarking on a journey to make chocolate themselves from the bean. The lovely thing about the event, and The Chocolate Show London that has grown out of it, is it is a great chance to meet other makers and talk, and through talking learn and gain...

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  • Easter Chocolates 2016

    March 21, 2016

    What a thrill, to have such truly fine and diverse Easter chocolates to choose from.

    Rococo painted egg with salted caramel mini-eggs.

    It's that time of year again. The days are getting longer, the detox ought now to be a distant memory, and Christmas is so long ago that you don't need an excuse to get majorly excited about some celebratory chocolate again. And eggs, chicks and bunnies! Only the hardest of hearts could resist. Among my Easter picks are some of the most beautiful (see above), cutest, and of course most delicious things out there. And all...

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  • An interview with Sam Giha of Cacaosuyo

    February 23, 2016

    The best milk chocolate in the world? You know you need to read on and find out more.

    Cacaosuyo bars

    You may not have heard of Cacaosuyo, but if you care about fine chocolate, you will want to make a note of it. Founded by partners Eduardo Lanfranco and Sam Giya, Cacaosuyo is a new chocolate maker taking the chocolate world by storm. Producing full-flavoured chocolates, their ethos is to make chocolate exceptionally true to the Peruvian cacao varieties that they are working with in the growing country. In 2015 they truly broke into my consciousness...

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  • ChocsforChance 2016 – a unique chocolate opportunity.

    January 26, 2016

    Many of the countries greatest chefs are creating exclusive boxes of chocolates for you to bid for.

    Copyright of Pellier Photography

    I know that if you are reading this you aren't someone who needs much persuasion to seek out fantastic chocolates. And Valentines is just the kind of slight excuse you won't even need. But who knows, maybe you are doing a New Year's detox, or some such foolish thing. Or maybe you aren't loved up at the moment and so February 14th is set to be ignored. Well as to the former, I have already...

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Cat Black

Cat BlackI am a food writer, with special interest in, and huge enthusiasm for, chocolate! This blog is where I get to tell you about all the wonderful tastes, events, and people I come across in the world of chocolate.

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