DREAMY DELIGHTS
Jessica Laing taps into her inner Willy Wonka at Newcastle’s School of Chocolate, La Chocolatrice…
Sweet success Oh chocolate, how I love thee. Whether in the form of bars, truffles, thins, buttons, spread, cake, biscuit or ice cream, you make life just that little bit sweeter - on good days, bad days, big days and all the other days in between. Zoe Rutter shares my passion for it. The twenty-something is a self-confessed chocaholic and has had a love affair with the stuff since childhood, during which her grandfather would treat her to a bar of Cadbury’s every time they saw each other. “He’d tell me to savour every mouthful and not share even a single square with anyone else,” she says with a grin. “I was hooked at a very young age. There’s just something so joyful about chocolate. It’s the ultimate ‘happy food’. Hand someone a slice of chocolate fudge cake, or a triple chocolate cookie, and they’re your best friend. Life feels better, even for just a few moments.” After studying French at university, she moved to the land of ooh-la-la, where she worked as an au pair for a family in Paris. In between teaching the children English, she threw herself into patisserie courses and chocolate-making workshops to learn everything she could about the craft. It only cemented her love for the humble cocoa bean and, soon, she found herself putting her new-found skills to the test by making tempting treats for the children every afternoon. Watching their little faces light up with glee every time a truffle or square of dark chocolate passed their lips would later inspire her to open her very own ‘school of
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chocolate’ in her native North East. La Chocolatrice - which translates to ‘the female chocolate maker’ in French - opened its doors just a few months ago on Newcastle’s Westgate Road.
Passers-by won’t miss its whimsical window displays which, so far, have taken on stunning Valentine’s Day and Easter themes. They do a wonderful job of luring you in to a magical, Parisian-themed world of chocolate-making. “What first drew me to the building was its curved glass front and railings - it reminded me of the old chocolate shops I used to visit in France,” says Zoe. “Inside, I wanted to create a fun space, with a feminine edge. I wanted it to look ‘pretty’ and inviting. It’s why you’ll find pink walls, florals and sparkling chandeliers. A cold, steel kitchen was out of the question.” Being creative and getting your hands dirty is the name of the game during Zoe’s intimate and fun-packed workshops, which can host between three and 10 chocolatelovers and last anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. Perfect for groups of friends and family looking to celebrate, or perhaps just pick up a few new recipes, tips and tricks, they take
place around a giant granite table and centre around decadent handmade truffles, luxury chocolate flakes and chocolate thins - or ‘crisps’. You can even mix up your own vegan creations and create your very own bespoke chocolate bars. Experimenting with flavours and textures is encouraged - as is licking the bowl - and you take home everything you make. During my visit we add orange, vanilla and freeze-dried raspberries to our truffles and make our very own version of mint chocolate thins - which, to my surprise and delight, taste even better than After Eights. “If you’re working with, eating and selling chocolate every day, like I am, it needs to be best quality,” says Zoe. “Ours has only five ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla. It’s as pure as you can get and, taste-wise, sits right in the middle of milk and dark. “It’s smooth and creamy, but still rich. The flavour lingers in the mouth for a lot longer
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