Cornwall might be famous for the pasties and clotted cream, but it is also proving it’s a fantastic place to indulge in chocolatey delights. This week is National Chocolate Week, so what better time to take a look at the wonderful range of chocolate you can find in Cornwall?
Trenance Chocolate
Based near Mullion, Trenance Chocolate use Belgian couverture, a high-quality chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter to create its range. The team of chocolatiers moulds the chocolate into novelty shapes, gourmet bars and truffles. You can visit their shop and factory seven days a week, leading all the way up to Christmas, and see the treats being made in front of your eyes.
Nicky Grant
Establishing her business in 2003, Nicky is an award winning chocolatier working from her kitchen studio in Helston. Her range of wedding cakes, chocolate treats, and hand-made chocolates show her exceptional designs and are made without preservatives and additives, using some of the best ingredients found locally.
Food of the Gods
Food of the Gods’ 100% raw, organic and Fairtrade chocolate is handmade in Cornwall. With 96% cacao content, they are sweetened with 4% organic date syrup. The cocoa is sourced from cocoa farms in Ecuador and Peru. In various forms, the chocolate is available to buy online and from stockists in Cornwall.
Chocolicious
For those who don’t want a lot of chocolate, Chocolicious specialises in small, sweet handmade chocolates and truffles, in addition to bars for over 15 years. Using Belgian chocolate, the treats are made on a Cornish farm near Liskeard. If you want something extra special, their chocolate dipped fruit or clotted cream shortbread dipped in chocolate are mouth-wateringly good.
Kernow Chocolate
Kernow Chocolate is a family based firm making handmade chocolate since 2005. Their new factory is open to the public, where visitors can see the chocolate being made in viewing areas, and learn about the origins of the chocolate and sample many of the various chocolates. There are over 20 different flavours to choose from, from Christmas pudding, lime, and Eton mess.
Chocolarder
Formed in 2012, this Ponsanooth business came about when Michael Longman decided making chocolate was a fun way to spend his time. Experimenting in his own kitchen, he learned the best ways to roast and grind the beans to produce the best chocolate from scratch. Buying the cocoa directly from the growers, Chocolarder is an ethical company, whose delicious products include the 100% Dark and Cornish Honeycomb bars.
I Should Coco
Based in St Ives, I Should Coco’s amazing artisan chocolates are hand-crafted at the workshop in the town, using the finest Belgian chocolate with 100% cocoa butter and you can add your own choice of toppings. Choose from sweets to strawberries, with white, dark or milk chocolate and you can even finish it off with a personal message.
Raw Chocolate Pie
If you want to be a little daring with your chocolate, try Raw Chocolate Pie. Uncooked, it retains all the nutrients associated with cacao. Suitable for vegetarians, vegans, diabetics, coeliacs and anyone with wheat or dairy intolerance, keep it in the fridge when you purchase their bars. Flavours include pumpkin seed, apricot, date and walnut.
When staying at our luxury accommodation in Cornwall, why not visit one of the factories of these amazing places, and pick up some delightful chocolate treats for yourself, and to take home to your family? They would make some amazing Christmas gifts!
Photo by: Eli Duke