Chantal Coady: Rococo Chocolates

In March 2011, The Lunch Circle welcomed Chantal Coady, chocolatier par excellence!

Chantal, a London native, single-handedly began what could now be termed the “New British School” of chocolate when she opened her Rococo Chocolates shop in 1983 on the Kings Road in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood. Today, with three shops and 25 employees, Chantal is arguably the biggest producer of hand-crafted chocolate in Britain. The author of numerous books on the subject, such as “The Chocolate Companion,” she also has experimented with and promoted the use of unusual flavours, a technique now being recreated by even the largest manufacturers. Her latest venture is a unique partnership  with local producers in Grenada to create organic, fair-trade chocolate.

Chantal delighted us with tales of chocolate dreams, celebrity clients, the challenges of keeping “inventory” under control, and the highs and lows of managing a cocoa plantation in Grenada.