S T A R T E R S
Trio
Carlo Melchior: the man behind North Devon’s top chocs
THE ART OF CHOCOLATE Meet three of Devon’s top chocolatiers, all currently stepping up the pace for a busy run up to Christmas…
Getting a good grip on things at Choccie Bar
CHOCOCO CHOCOLATE HOUSE, EXETER
This award-winning independent chocolatier has just opened an eyecatching new Chocolate House in Exeter’s Gandy Street. Seek it out to dive into a giant, albeit sticky, pool of all things chocolatey, and start filling the present drawer with gift boxes rammed with Chococo’s hand-made fare. The shop also sells a range of hand-made studded slabs, origin bars, clusters and novelties – including chocolate fish and chips! (Not to your taste? Then try Jurassic Coast dinosaurs or chocolate robots.) The new shop’s stylish interior includes an upstairs seating area set aside for coffee, tea, local cakes – and, of course, hot chocolate.
MELCHIOR CHOCOLATES
So that’s two chocolate specialists on Exeter’s Gandy Street. Can we make it three? Actually no, we can’t, for Swissborn Carlo Melchior may be making his award-winning hand-made chocolates right here in Devon – ever since 1989, in fact, and always to traditional Swiss recipes – but he’s decided to create his at Station Road, South Molton instead. Carlo is a regular at some of the county’s top foodie festivals, but also sells his chocolates at his North Devon shop, and online. And like all the best artisan chocolatiers, he offers specialist workshops and masterclasses for those who want to learn more. ✱ melchiorchocolates.co.uk
✱ chococo.co.uk
CHOCCIE BAR
Could you walk past this place? Come on, could you?
Exeter-based chocolatier Katie Jones runs chocolate gift workshops and, even better, half-day chocolate masterclasses. From 3 November, she’s also offering a Make Your Own Chocolate Gifts class (think yummy truffles), which will run on Monday and Thursday evenings, 6-8.30pm, right up until December 22. All the Choccie Bar chocolates are made in the chocolate studio right above the shop in Gandy Street, too. “If you can think it, we can make it,” says Katie, who has made chocolate bicycles – and even a chocolate squirrel! – for customers before now. ✱ chocciebar.com
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