Chocolatiers of the Kawarthas Warren Eley - NaKeD Chocolate

By Gina Jones Chocolate Lover

NaKeD Chocolate is one of the stops on A Taste of the Kawarthas Food Tours in downtown Peterborough. When you walk in, you are surprised at the beauty and aroma of artful pieces of chocolate. SO many flavours to choose from!

Warren is very passionate about chocolate. He says, “I guess it’s something I knew I wanted to do even as a little boy. I remember seeing Willy Wonka (the original with Gene Wilder) and I was enamored by that movie. I loved bright colours. And I would see Porky Pig with a cake melting all over. I was fascinated by that look and just had this thing about sweets and candies.

My uncle was one of the best Master Bakers and Confectioners in Scotland. When I was 11, I spent the summer there, and watched all these big, burley, tough men covered in tattoos pounding dough, making small, dainty pastries. They struck me as these big scary men in a dungeon-like bakery doing a guys job. It didn’t strike me as light and fancy. It was an aggressive place, and that was my first introduction to bakeries.

He joined the Military at 17 with the 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment Special Service Forces. “I was involved from a young age in a rather aggressive world. Then, I was a correctional officer for almost 12 years. But it wasn’t me. I was different. I had military experience, business experience. I couldn’t take courses to advance my career. At 9 years in, I thought, this isn’t going anywhere and I’m not happy, so I’m going to take a chance and open my own chocolate shop. So for three years while working 12 hour night shifts, and in between my patrols, I would sit down and develop recipes. It was trial and error.”

Wrren says it’s difficult to come up with ideas. He says, “I think it’s an advantage that I’m not trained, so there are no rules in my creations. When I started in 2006, I wanted to make chocolate that looked like colourful jewels and no one was doing it. So when social media came out,I followed other Chocolatiers and found I was doing it right. I’m doingthings they probably wouldn’t dare to do because they have beentrained. It helps me to think outside the box.” As for the beautifulartistic designs, Warren says, “I’m a car guy. I always wanted to docustom paint on cars. And I thought, why can’t I apply that tochocolate? A lot of my colour schemes have a 70s & 80s hot rod vibeto them. It’s like painting a work of art.”

Warren says, “To me, it’s never ending. I love this. It’s hard to express how much I love coming to work every day. I’ve never felt this happy before. I’m not done! I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I can do and what I want to do. There’s so much more! I plan to do more sculpt work this year. I want to do a rendition of the Peterborough Lift Lock. Lovers, modern abstract art - a sexier, risque appeal. Hence the name - NaKeD Chocolate.” 142 Hunter Street, Peterborough www.nakedchocolate.ca