P
L E N T Y
Meet Your Maker
Chococo
Want more cocoa in your chocolate? Visit Chococo, the Dorset
company making handmade truffles with great local flavours
W
hen most of us were scoffing
Terry’s All Gold and Cadbury
Milk Tray in the 1980s, Claire
Burnet was in Brussels, dining on decadent
Belgian chocolates, the sort that are made
with pure cocoa butter, fresh cream and
pure ganache fillings, but aren’t full of
preservatives and additives. Nearly 20 years
later, Claire opened Chococo with her
husband, Andy, creating chocolates made
with pure cocoa butter, fresh cream and
pure ganache fillings that aren’t full of
preservatives and additives! Today, they
have two shops with cafes in Swanage and
Winchester, plus a successful mail order
business which sends their selection boxes
as far as Shetland. Claire told us what makes
Chococo special, and divulged some secrets
of cooking with chocolate.
Home brew
These fresh
mint chocolates
are only made
in the summer
using mint from
Chococo’s own
bushes at their
chocolate kitchen
in Wareham.
Why is it important to work with
local producers?
I wanted to create a brand that was making
truly handmade, fresh chocolates using local
ingredients, so we hooked up with Trevor
Craig, a dairy farmer near Osmington in
Weymouth, and we still use his cream today.
Since then, local food has become very
trendy, but we’ve been doing it since 2002
– it’s part of the DNA of our brand. We’ve
also always worked with the same beekeeper
– we use his honey in a number of different
formats. It’s great fun using Black Cow
Vodka, Twisted Nose Gin, local fresh fruits
from Purbeck Blueberry Company. It’s a joy
working with other food producers because
they love doing what they do, just as we love
what we do, and we end up creating amazing
flavours together.
Tell us about the cocoa beans you use –
what makes your chocolate stand out?
Green & B X