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Artisan du Chocolat is a British chocolate making company, they produce chocolate from ground cocoa beans and apply endangered artisan methods in production, producing exclusive chocolates. Every Artisan chocolate is made at a 17,000 square foot Atelier in Ashford Kent in the United Kingdom, from selected raw ingredients. Artisan du Chocolat supplies chocolates in the UK particularly and trade online internationally.

Artisan du Chocolat

History

Gerard Coleman an Irish-born chef and pastry chef started Artisan du Chocolat after working in Dublin, London, and New York and began to focus on the ingredient chocolate, specifically. Having done an apprenticeship as a chocolatier with Pierre Marcolini in Brussels in 1997, Gerard returned to the UK a year later, and by 1999 created some chocolate samples for Gordon Ramsay who put them on the menu at his flagship restaurant in Chelsea, London. By 2000, Artisan du Chocolat's stall at the Borough Market in London had experienced its first year of trade, and Gerard had created his 'Tobacco chocolates', which were served at Heston Blumenthal's ‘The Fat Duck’ restaurant in Bray.

In 2001, Artisan Du Chocolat opened their first shop in Chelsea, showcasing and expanding their range of Artisan luxury Chocolates to a greater audience and also in this year business partner Anne Weyns joined Gerard full-time.

In 2003 Artisan du Chocolat created their original ‘liquid sea salted caramels', these were served at Gordon Ramsay’s Claridges, to this day they remain a company best seller and have been adopted by many chocolate makers.

In 2004 Artisan du Chocolat chocolates accompanied the last Concorde flight from London and New York. Further research, experimentation and development has resulted in Artisan du Chocolat expanding their range of chocolates and introducing their range of ‘O collection’ and ‘Pearls’.

In 2006 Artisan du Chocolat had outgrown its 3000 square foot atelier in Greenwich and moved to their a larger 17,000 square foot atelier in Ashford, Kent.

A strong investment in quality and production using new technology developed in Brazil, ensured that by 2007 Artisan du Chocolat were able to produce their own couverture from ground cocoa beans, conching and refining on-site from carefully selected and harvested cocoa beans with distinct taste profiles. This allowed them to be able to produce their own chocolate with pure and distinct taste from fine raw materials on an Artisan scale.

In 2007 Artisan du Chocolat featured at the Chocolate show in Japan.

In 2008 the ‘Sea Salted Caramels’ expanded their range of flavours, and Artisan du Chocolat opened a London Selfridges Shop.

In 2009 Artisan du Chocolat opened their Chocolateria in Notting Hill, selling their full range of products, but also launching and serving chocolate cocktails, ice creams, hot chocolate, brownies, candied gingers, as well as introducing exclusive chocolate tasting evenings.

The years 2010 and 2011 have seen Artisan du Chocolat open 3 concessions in Selfridges regional Stores, and their chocolates became available in Heathrow Airport Terminals 1,4 and 5, as well as in Paris La Grande Epicerie.

Products

An extensive range of chocolate is produced from selected raw ingredients in their Kent atelier.

Couture Chocolates

The couture chocolate range has almost 40 flavours, they are made by infusing fragrant flowers, spices, herbs and teas in cream, and mixing this cream with chocolate to create a soft ganache. Each infusion is matched to specific cocoa beans to enhance and complement the flavour. Some flavours are traditional, but many are unusual.

O collection and Pearls

A collection of thin discs of Artisan du Chocolat’s crafted white, milk or dark chocolate filled with either fruit coulis, runny nut pastes or infused ganache. The O collection has a snappy texture and varying centres; from honey to pralines or flower coulis to exotic fruits. A set of incredibly thin dark chocolate discs filled with an intense chocolate centre infused with fresh mint leaves completes the O collection; ‘after dinner’ mints and chocolates. Artisan du Chocolat produce South sea pearls, inspired by the rare and natural wonders of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Artisan du Chocolat South Sea and Tahitian pearls are filled with fine milk or dark chocolate ganache, smooth yet intense hazelnut praline, or rich pistachio paste; each covered with a thin layer of white, dark or milk chocolate and pearlescent colours of White, Emerald, Silver and Gold.

Truffles

Three classics are made with an intense yet smooth truffle centre of chocolate, cream, and butter whipped together then covered in a chocolate shell and cocoa powder. There is the ‘house dark truffle’, ‘house milk truffle’, and the Truffle2, which has alternating layers of milk and dark chocolate ganache. There is also the option of sugar free truffles; their classic truffle flavours are re-made using Maltitol rather than sugar. Artisan du Chocolat also produce diabetic suitable truffles. As a British chocolatier, Artisan du Chocolat try to use local ingredients wherever possible, and they have made use of Chapel Down, an English sparkling wine to make truffles with notes of honey and melon, because it has a less alcoholic flavour than a Marc de champagne, it allows the delicate flavours of the sparkling wine to shine through.

Chocolate Bars and Wild Bars

Artisan du Chocolat’s large selection of bars are produced from ground cocoa beans, conching and refining at their atelier in Kent. The flavoured bars (Tbars, caffe bars, fusion bars etc.) are also made by conching and refining selected cocoa beans, but directly with ground spices, coffee beans, and lemongrass etc. to yield a particular flavour development; this process is completely unique to Artisan du Chocolat. There are almost 30 Chocolate bars in their range such as the 100% bar, Almond bar, Jamaica bar, Congo bar, Brazil bar, Black Cardamom bar, Tobacco bar, Orchid and Orange Blossom Dark bar, Espresso bar, and more. Seasonal Wild bars are also produced from Artisan du Chocolat's Dark, Milk, or White chocolate; these are mixed with different fruits, nuts, confections or spices, according to those seasonally available. Because Wild bars are seasonal, the ingredients and combinations may change over time.

No1 Original Salted caramels

The original sea salted caramel was invented in 2003 by Gerard Coleman for Gordon Ramsay's menu at Claridges. They are Artisan du Chocolat’s cult classic, and their best seller to date; a dark chocolate shell containing a very liquid caramel that contains a pinch of unrefined grey sea salt to cut the sweetness. Pure untreated Noirmoutier Island grey sea salt is used; harvested by hand using traditional methods initiated by Monks in the seventh century, this particular salt is enriched with trace elements and minerals and is renowned by the world’s chefs. In addition to the original No1 sea salted caramel, a range of flavours was introduced in 2008. Infused with pink and black peppercorns is the fiery yet fragrant No4, inspired by the British Banoffee pie is the nostalgic No5, made using fresh Banana pulp. Then there is a tangy No7, lifted by one of Italy’s 6 year aged oak cast Balsamic Vinegar, Saporoso Balsamico Malpighi. No9 is an aromatic caramel, rounded by fresh Lemongrass and reminiscent of Thailand. Finally there is No15, a deep and intense salted caramel layered with bittersweet flavours of Sage and Thyme; this is a distinctive, almost savoury caramel.

Fruits and Nuts

Their range of fruits and nuts are coated in Artisan du Chocolat’s own Atelier made white, dark and milk chocolate. The candied fruits, such as Orange Peel or Cranberries are sourced from a small artisan in Corsica. Using mostly local fruits and traditional methods for candying (by bathing the peels in sugar syrups of increasing concentration), candied fruits of a particular texture and taste are produced, with a very low acidity and no bitter aftertaste. There are also candied Gingers, in which Australian ginger is used to produce an intended result. It is less fiery and fibrous than the widely used Chinese ginger, meaning these have an intense yet delicate flavour. Among the nuts, the range includes pan scorched Gianduja Almonds and Hazelnuts, roast Macadamias with Coconut, Brazil nuts and fine Turkish Antep Pistashios. Turkish Antep pistachios are used, because they are smaller and are considered to be fuller in flavour compared to many Californian varieties. Artisan du Chocolat certainly only ever uses the finest ingredients, that are sourced with a meticulous attention to detail and unique quality. There is also a Middle Eastern inspired Persian brittle, nuts, seeds, sugar, and butter are hand mixed, rolled wafer thin, baked, and cooled before coating in a dark chocolate producing an exotic and delicate combination of flavoursome nuts and seeds. Then there are the Coated Coffee Beans, although Coffee and chocolate have much in common (the growing, roasting, the caffeine), they are not always a winning match; Artisan du Chocolat tried many different coffee beans to reach their preferred taste fit of Quebradon [[Colombian coffee beans]] which are freshly roasted and 72% chocolate from Mexico. Finally there are the Praline Rochers, an indulgent nut based chocolate product, they are made by filling a 72% dark chocolate shell, or 40% milk chocolate shell with an intense hazelnut praline, then covering the shell with more chocolate to allow crunchy cocoa nibs and hazelnut pieces to stick, and finally covering the whole thing in even more chocolate.

Drinking chocolate and Baking

Drinking chocolate consumed as early as the 18th century as a medicinal drink. Artisan du Chocolat’s hot chocolate is made from real chocolate flakes conched and refined in their atelier in Kent. Artisan conches and refines all of their hot chocolate flakes from ground cocoa beans to create a natural intense and full flavour. Their Drinking Chocolate is packed in apothecary style jars and comes in a range of flavours; Chocolate Elixir Hot Chocolate, Mole Chilli Hot Chocolate, Origin Hot Chocolate, Matcha White Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and Death by Chocolate Hot Chocolate. There are also Quickie Hot Chocolate Spoons; wooden spoons set in a block of chocolate designed for stirring into hot milk for a ‘quick to make’ hot chocolate treat. These come in a range of 3 flavours, Sweetie is a milk chocolate dipper infused with caramel and sea salt, Tease is a milk chocolate dipper infused with Masala Chai tea, and Kinky is a dark chocolate dipper infused with mole chili spices. For Bakers, Artisan du Chocolat also supplies Liquid Salted Caramel Sauce and Artisan Fine Cocoa Powder. The liquid salted caramel sauce can be used on desserts, or be drizzled over ice cream, on tarts, yogurt, fruits, and even toast. Artisan’s cocoa powder is versatile and can be used for sprinkling, stirring, and in any baking project from Muffins to Cupcakes, or sprinkled on a cappuccino.

Kids range

Among their range for kids are Milk Chocolate Coins, these bags of gold coins are made with Artisan’s 40% milk chocolate; there is also a Monster Lolli, a large milk chocolate lolli decorated with Monsters made of natural colours. Space Dust UFO’s are a particular treat they produce for kids, these are UFO shaped discs coated in popping candy in Artisan’s Milk chocolate. Perhaps not only for children is the Salted Caramel Honeycomb, a traditional English confection made the Artisan way using their Liquid Salted Caramel and coated in Milk or Dark Chocolate. Then there are the Moreish S'mores, inspired by the traditional American campfire treat, these are soft marshmallows sat on a digestive biscuit base and coated in Milk or Dark Chocolate.

Chocolateria

Artisan Du Chocolat’s Notting Hill chocolateria expands on their concept launched at Selfridges, it has a seating area with 16 covers, lacquered white surfaces and neon orange walls. Dominating the centre is an atmospheric upside down bowl shaped canopy light with a bright cacao plantation print. Glass cabinets line one wall, with arranged stacked piles of chocolates on display which gives the impression of a chocolate laboratory with mixing melted hot chocolate whirring away in one corner. The Notting Hill chocolateria is more than a shop but it is not a café or dessert bar; it is a concept designed to surprise and delight chocolate lovers. On the menu is a list of chocolate nibbles, from a tasting plate of chocolates, to hot chocolate fondant, salted caramel chocolate tart, chocolate mousse or fresh fruits dipped in melted chocolate. Then there is Ice Cream in 3 flavours; Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream, a combination of salty and sweet with a lush texture of ice cream and chocolate drops. There is a Chocolate Ice Cream made with Artisan’s rich dark chocolate and infused with caramelised cocoa nibs; and finally a Salted Pistachio Ice Cream, a smooth pale green fragrant ice cream with a crunch into the milk chocolate coated Turkish Antep pistachios. There is also a Cocoa Pulp Sorbet; a low-to-no fat alternative to ice cream (which is based on dairy products). Artisan du Chocolat’s Cocoa Pulp Sorbet is made using the fleshy pulp from the cocoa pod, which is the white, soft and slightly sweet part of this popular South American fruit called ‘baba de cacao”. Artisan du Chocolat has also collaborated with Nick Strangeway, a cocktail bartender to create bespoke chocolate cocktails. Nick and Artisan have developed a range of alcoholic drinks infusing or distilling spirits such as rum, tequila, vodka and gin with cacao in its purest form to get intended aromas and flavours. The drinks menu at Artisan chocolateria will change according to the season and include martinis, bellinis, Latin drinks, fizzes and sours.

London Chocolate Tasting Evenings

The Notting Hill Chocolateria holds 2 hour tutored tasting evenings sat under the cacao plantation light in their chocolateria; these London evenings are informal and informative, and run from 7pm to 9pm on specific Thursdays. Guests take a tour of all things chocolate, from cocoa pulp juice to origin bars, then from couture chocolates to truffles and salted caramels, as well as chocolate ice cream, nibbles, chocolate drinks and chocolate cocktails from the Chocolateria menu.

See Also

• List of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers

External Links

• http://artisanduchocolat.com
• http://artisanworld.co.uk
• http://artisanduchocolat.com/london-chocolate-tasting-evening.html