Ha-ha….They do exist and i’ve been working as one for the past 6 odd years….but i left the job 8 weeks ago to work for a mate who owns and ran a small bike shop on his own for the past two years as he needed the help and anyway…..I was getting kinda fed up doing the same job 5-6 days a week for the past 6 years even if it was working wi chocolate and fillings and other willy wonka stuff, nae oompa-loompas though – they’re just fantasy but i did have a gaggle of 4 girls, all around 21ish who were a good laugh to work with.
I used to work as a speciality chocolatier at The Cocoa Bean Co on the A75 between Castle Douglas and Kirroughtree, i’m sure many folk on here have stopped in on their way or return from the trails at Kirroughtree, i made 130 odd different types of filled chocs with all varieties of chocolate from 90% speciality, single source cocoa beans (boutique) dark chocolate to your bog standard white chocolate that i do not consider to be a chocolate as the cocoa content is less than 30% and white chocolate is for kids only imho. I preferred the single source milk and dark chocolate to work with as i could get a mirror/shiny finish on my chocs, I still help them out when they need it as i was Claire’s first employee really, she started it in her garage as a hobby 8 years ago and it’s grown massively over the past few years to a purpose built factory and workshop, It’s xmas season and we make for Harrods, Boots, Waitrose, John Lewis group, Royal Yacht Britannia, Debenhams, upmarket delis etc..etc..and probably just about every other big retailer you can name so it’s kinda hectic out there at the moment and as i only work a few days in the bike shop i don’t mind helping them out when i have a day off, i worked an extra 36hrs hours last week for the xmas orders and also designing new chocs/designs/flavours for the coming season.
S’funny but i don’t really like chocolate all that much?, don’t get me wrong i don’t mind it but i can’t remember the last time i ever bought/ate a choccy bar/sweetie,biscuit was?….I guess when you are working with it all day and constantly tasting it to check whether it’s in temper or not and sampling the fillings to make sure they are ok you never want to eat the stuff. All hand made stuff by the way – no production machines or mechanisation – quality before quantity everytime.
On the reasoning above regarding why i don’t eat chocolate outside work i’d hate to work in a distillery 😀