CHOCOLATE is one of those pleasures which has become so ubiquitous that it is hard to believe it was only when Joseph Fry of York developed his revolutionary technique in 1847 that it became eaten in the solid form we see today.
In 1861, Dundee saw the opening of W & M Duncan, when Mary Duncan and her son William began to make their famous chocolate. They went on to set up the Regent Confectionery Works in Edinburgh, in 1896. For years, the Duncan’s brand was sold with the strapline: Duncan’s – the Scots word for chocolate.
Duncan’s no longer exists but Scotland’s passion for quality chocolate is well served by a number of dedicated and creative chocolatiers who work away in wee kitchens to deliver the kind of melt-in-the-mouth moments that make a day feel special.
Chocolatia
Chloe Oswald started Chocolatia in her brother’s Forfar kitchen during lockdown, propelled by the experience of working with some of Scotland’s top chefs at the Gleneagles Hotel and the Michelin-starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie.
What began as an idea to pass the time during furlough fast became a full-time venture, gaining recognition around the world – Oswald won two prizes at the prestigious Academy of Chocolate Awards 2022.
She said: “I’m trying to show people what high-quality chocolate is meant to taste like, using the best ingredients. It is a different experience. The chocolates are expensive but they are a treat with a short shelf life.
“My grandfather grew up on a family-owned cocoa plantation in Trinidad so chocolate is in my blood! I am determined to do the right thing by producers by using ethical ingredients.
“You have to start with good ingredients. Everything falls into place after that. I always use Scottish berries in season and I like to take some of the Scottish flavours which are a little unsung – look out for the toasted oat bonbon in the whisky pairing selection!”
Iain Burnett's Highland Chocolatier
A wee drive through the Grampians takes you to Grandtully, the small village where Iain Burnett, the master chocolatier behind Highland Chocolatier, delivers a boutique experience to be savoured, individual chocolates which begin as a feast for the eye, and a menu which delivers in delightful ways.
It only takes a short conversation with Burnett to understand this is a man who is devoted to delivering the very best to his customers.
“The velvet truffles are the most interesting things I do,” he said. “They took three years to perfect. They are a ganache without the additives often used. If you only use cocoa and cream, you simply taste more of the cocoa and cream.
“We use cocoa beans from Sao Tome in Central Africa and cream from a Jersey herd grazing in Perthshire. You taste the sweetness from the cream which comes from the good grass the cows eat.
“The recipes change according to the seasonality: good weather changes the cream; and the beans change according to the harvest. It’s a constant flux. It takes two to three days to make one chocolate.”
That small snapshot into Burnett’s philosophy cannot adequately convey the range and the quality found at Highland Chocolatier. He offers “Chocolate Tasting Flights”, an audio guide combined with a tasting box of chocolates to deliver a delicious insight into his world.
Brewbaker
Meanwhile, over on Millport, the wee capital town on the Isle of Cumbrae, Johanna Williams delivers a sensory experience of her own at Brewbaker, which has a distinctly continental feel.
A small bar provides the seating for those tempted by an array of fresh home-baking, a selection of cheeses, and, of course, the chocolates. These are conched and tempered on site – a process which in itself takes a month – before the chocolates are created with Williams’s characteristic flair.
“I make the chocolates I would like to eat. I’m 22 years along the line doing this, and I’m still excited,” says Williams, the one-woman whirlwind behind the counter. “At the moment, I have a Szechuan and rose pepper with puff candy chocolate. The flavours are simply amazing.”
It’s not just the chocolate these producers care about, though. Each of these makars, these poets using cocoa as their meter, really care about the way their chocolates make people feel.
“It’s about seeing customers as people and recognising that piece of chocolate and that interaction might be the best part of that person’s day,” Williams says. “If I can make someone’s day a bit special, that’s a privilege.”
Chocolate, with all its feelgood chemicals, has become intrinsically linked with Valentine’s Day. But, perhaps, we don’t need to wait for someone else to give us a gift of gorgeous Scottish chocolate?
We do all have a special someone in our lives needing a bit of love: ourselves.
Ruth Watson is the founder of the Keep Scotland the Brand campaign
