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Where Our Eggs are “laid”

Birds Eggs “laid in France”

As part of our CURATE collection, we have sourced these eggs from a company that I have worked with for over 40 years. I trust their sourcing of cocoa and I can share that they moved away from West African cocoa because they were not happy with the practices there, and not able to control them. They bought a large cocoa farm in Ecuador  (San Fernando, see link and more information below) and have been working directly with the farmers.

The chocolate eggs are made from this cacao (their house couverture is bean to bar) so there is clear provenance, traceability and good working practices which avoid child labour or deforestation.  They are committed to protecting the local people and the environment; AND they are certified by the Rainforest Alliance. (see more below.)

So although the cocoa is not certified ‘Fair Trade’, they are not part of the commodity trading market, they use the Direct Trade model which is even better as they produce their own chocolate from the beans and it’s 100% traceable.

We have fact checked this with an Ecuadorian cocoa farmer friend Susana Cardenas who is also a cocoa farmer in Manabi province and she has confirmed everything above. 

We also sell her very rare and special heritage cocoa chocolate when we can get it…

https://www.cardenaschocolate.com/

Chantal Coady, January 2022

The following information comes from the supplier who make the eggs. 

  • Plots are classified as agricultural (no deforestation) and there is no conflict with local communities (no land grabbing).
  • No deformation of primary forest.
  • Child labor is strictly prohibited.
  • Workers receive training on their rights, the environment, working conditions, agricultural practices (overall, they must be made aware of all aspects of certification).
  • The supervision of workers is cared for by the presence of a full-time nurse and a doctor present one day a week on the plantation.
  • Structures minimize load carrying and workers have adequate protective equipment.
  • The salary of the employees is higher than the Ecuadorian minimum wage.
  • Employees are affiliated with Social Security, can be members of trade unions, enjoy legal holidays and work 5 days out of 7.
  • The use of water is rational (archived registers, leak management, use of sustainable sources).
  • Effluent control mechanisms are in place (outgoing water analysis).
  • Maintenance of uncultivated areas on the plantation of several hectares (wooded areas).
  • Meals with good nutritional value are provided FREE. 

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Rosamund Coady – Ceramicist at Townhouse Spitalfields

Rosamund Coady is a ceramicist who studied ceramics at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts in the 1980s.

In 1999, she became Artist In Residence at Bruce Castle Museum in Tottenham. Her first solo exhibition there was called “Crocks in the Castle”.

Coady has participated in group shows at the Jewish Museum in Camden, Earth & Fire at the Harley Gallery Welbeck, and Cambridge Contemporary Art. She recently created a group of works for Twenty Twenty Gallery’s “Spring Flourish” exhibition.

Other solo projects include installations of Japanese cups in the Brutalist Lumen Church in Bloomsbury, and a food inspired show of plates when she was guest artist for Copperbeech café in Dulwich.

Coady’s work has been featured in publications like The World of Interiors, the Financial Times magazine, The Guardian, Country Home, Good Housekeeping and The Times magazine.

She creates simple ceramic forms but reworks them three-dimensionally with experimental glazes, creating combinations she calls “wild glazing”. Glazes are central to her ceramic practice – she mixes them instinctively, sometimes blending leftover glazes to get unpredictable effects.

Rosamund Coady and Reed Wilson join forces in the exhibition Layers at Town House
Spitalfields
16th – 24th September, for London Design Festival/Shoreditch Design Triangle.

Downloadable PDF:

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Foraging and Father’s Day


– story about meeting Lucy at Rendezvous tasting The Tidal Rum – on YouTube

This June we have a very special limited edition collection with The Tidal Rum and three of our chocolates that we have tested carefully to be sure they compliment the rum beautifully – This is your chance to gift some lucky person, of course it does not need to be your dad or even a man, just someone special who will appreciate this magical combination and maybe even share with you. In our family this kind of gift is known as a boomerang, and we love those! 


Meet Kazz the forager and this special ingredient, called Truffle of the Sea or Pepper Dulse on YouTube.

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Fishermans Birthday

Are you looking for a fun way to celebrate the summer solstice? Look no further than the Fisherman’s Birthday celebration on June 24th, 2023! This family-friendly event takes place from 12pm to 8:30pm at the Kingsbury Green Primary School Playing Fields in London.

The Fisherman’s Birthday celebration is a unique event that celebrates the ancient tradition of fishing. There will be plenty of activities for all ages, including fishing contests, live music, and delicious food. Don’t miss out on this fun and festive event!

For more information, please contact [email protected].

To learn more about the important life saving work that the funds raised here are used for.

Fisherman’s Day
29 June is St Peter and St Paul’s Day. They were two of the twelve Apostles in the Christian religion.St Peter is the patron saint of fishermen because he was a Galilean fisherman by profession He was chosen by Jesus Christ as one of his twelve apostles. St. Paul is the author of 3 of the 27 books of the bible, and he’s the hero of another, Acts of the Apostles. He was born in Tarsus, located in present-day eastern Turkey. He was a tentmaker by profession and was a Roman citizen. Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul Traditions, Customs and Activities image: Jesus and St PeterMany of customs carried out are centred on the sea, fish and fishermen because St Peter was a fisherman. In Central and South America as well as across Europe, fishermen have their boats blessed by the local priest.England: Nearest Sunday to St Peter’s Day (June). Blessing of the Sea and Fisheries at Folkstone, Kent, England. The service is led by the vicar of St Peter’s Church (the Seafarers’ Church).
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Paul de Bondt’s chocolate roulade

Chocolate Roulade photo by James Murphy

A lovely celebration cake.

I first met Paul de bondt & his wife Cecilia in 1996, at the Eurochocolate festival in Perugia. He is one of the best chocolatiers and pastry chefs in Tuscany, based in Pisa. We spent a weekend running a cookery school, sharing our recipes – I demonstrated my tapenade and this is one of his recipes – it’s a really light Genoise sponge, and makes the perfect foil to a creamy filling or ganache. 

For the filling you could choose a variety of things…

Soft berries, crème fraiche, chocolate truffle….

Coffee, Tea, or water ganache, which is dairy free…

Serves 8

Prep 30 mins

Cook 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 75g strong white flour
  • 25g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g caster/ sugar

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Line a rectangular baking tray (approx 30x 40cm) with greaseproof paper.
  2. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together into a bowl. 
  3. Beat the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl with the salt and sugar how, until they reach meringue consistency. Gradually mix in the egg yolks, then gently fold in the flour and cocoa with a large metal spoon until well combined, keeping as much air in as possible. 
  4. Spread the roulade mixture onto the lined tray and bake for about 12 minutes, or until just cooked, test with a skewer or the palm of your hand. 
  5. Cool on wire rack
  6. Turn out of the tray and remove the paper, although you can keep it as a base to make rolling easier. Spread your whipped cream and ganache or whatever you choose, roll and dust with cocoa powder & icing sugar. 

Keep cool until consumed 

Chantal Coady 

Mastering the Art of Chocolate Published by @wnbooks Weidenfeld & Nicholson 

Photo by @jamesmurphyphoto 

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Environmental Statement 

Since the Chocolate Detective started it has been an imperative to avoid the use of plastic unless completely unavoidable.

We use recycled or recyclable materials wherever possible. 

Our new egg cartons are made from bagasse, a by product of sugar cane. The result is an elegant, smooth white food that is safe board, so we no longer need to line the boxes with tissue, they are also home compostable.

Made in Lancashire, powered by water.

We are really delighted to have got to the point where we could have this beautiful paper printed, and proud to be working with this British company. http://www.roachbridgetissues.com/what-we-do/take-our-environmental-responsibilities-seriously/

New Arrival!

Our new black and white tissue paper is printed using water-based inks on historic mill site of Roach Bridge harnessing the power of the river Darwen. 

Soon we will soon be offering this beautiful tissue paper as standard wrap for all our web orders, and soon with a carrier bag as a gift option online. In the meantime we will be using it at every excuse and in particular at all pop-up events.

Any clear bags we use to pack the chocolate are made from Natureflex TM which is a wood based home compostable material. They may look like plastic but they are not! 

Natureflex Circular Economy

There’s much debate about composting as some materials need an industrial process to break them down, we aim for home compostable components.

The one thing we have struggled to source because of our tiny scale is a chocolate tray (for protecting chocolate bonbons inside a box). In this instance we have compromised by using a PET1 plastic that is fully recyclable by its similar to a plastic water bottle. It’s made from the same material as a plastic bottle.

This area of packaging is rapidly evolving and we will be keeping our eyes open for any new innovations.

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Two Chocolate Torte Recipes

Dairy & Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Tortes

Serves 8

Non-Dairy GF Ingredients

  • 200g good extra virgin olive oil 
  • 75 golden castor sugar
  • Provençal Chocolate “Olives” 150g x 2
  • 100g ground polenta 
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • zest and juice of 2 oranges
  • 3 eggs
  • pinch of salt 

Non-Dairy GF Method

  1. preheat the oven to 170C
  2. grease dish – what size etc
  3. Whisk eggs, then add in all the other ingredients 
  4. bake 30-40 mins or until the knife comes out clean and the polenta is cooked

Gluten Free Ingredients

* 300g Provençal Chocolate “Olives” (2 bags)
* (of which approx sugar and chocolate = 50-70% weight!)
* 120g gluten-free dark chocolate
* 125g butter
* 6 eggs , separated
* 50g golden caster sugar 
* 1 tbsp cocoa powder , plus extra for dusting
* crème fraîche , to serve
* pinch salt

Gluten Free Method

  1. Provençal Chocolate “Olives” 150g x 2 almonds to a fine consistency in a food processor. 
  2. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base of a 25cm spring-form cake tin. Melt the chocolate in an oven proof dish for 5 minutes or so, then stir in the butter. Or use a bainmarie or microwave if preferred.
  3. Using an electric whisk, in a very clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Then, without cleaning the beaters, whisk the yolks with the sugar in a separate bowl until pale and voluminous.
  4. Combine the chocolate with the egg yolk mixture, then incorporate the cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, & the ground almonds. Add a spoonful of egg white to the batter, stirring it through to loosen the mix, then fold in the rest, taking care to keep in as much air as possible.
  5. Gently pour into the tin and bake for 20-35 mins. Don’t overcook! I took mine out when the sides were risen, and bouncy, the centre still soft. 
  6. Leave to cool in the tin, after taking out of the tin then with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraîche.

adapted from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chocolate-cardamom-hazelnut-torte @sophonaplate

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Chantal Coady the Chocolate Detective in conversation with…

Extraordinary taste, sustainability and social impacts

This event takes place in the British Library Theatre and will be simultaneously live streamed on the British Library platform. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person, or to watch on our platform (online) either live or within 48 hours on catch up. Viewing links will be sent out shortly before the event.

Chantal Coady, founder of Rococo Chocolate and The Chocolate Detective, is joined by Nick Davis, a grower in Jamaica, and Angus Thirlwell of Hotel du Chocolat to explore the dynamics of producing ethical, delicious chocolate and its huge impact on the local communities. Hosted by Leyla Kazim of The Food Programme.

With chocolate tastings available for those attending the event in-person.

Chantal Coady is the mother of the artisan chocolate industry in the UK and the real chocolate revolution. Having established luxury brand Rococo four decades ago, she now heads up The Chocolate Detective, leading the way in engaged ethics and sustainability. In the early part of the century she entered into a joint venture organic farm with Grenada Chocolate Company, directly supporting the organic cocoa farmers, who for the first time were able to become chocolate makers themselves and create real value in the local economy. She is a multi-award winner and author of five books.

Please come to the British library Monday April 11th 2022 as part of the FOOD SEASON 

https://www.bl.uk/events/

https://www.bl.uk/events/food-season

Leila Kazim of the Food Program will be moderator for the evening. Nick Davis founder  of One One Cacao https://www.oneonecacao.com  will join us from Jamaica and Angus Thirlwell of Hotel Chocolat will be there in person. We will discuss chocolate: past and future. Expect a lively debate and we will enjoy some special and delicious chocolates, while challenging the status quo of the enormous chocolate industry, dominated by just a few large players.

Join us in person or online

Tickets and online registration.

https://www.bl.uk/boxoffice

#BritishLibrary

#food-season