Guilt-free Chocolate… What Will They Think of Next?
Chocolate is not something normally associated with an ethical stance. It has long been the guilty pleasure snuck late at night in darkened kitchens, or secretly indulged in from a stash in the office drawers. It’s a food steeped in sin for being decadent, delicious and often the subject of glutinous greed.
But Rebecca Kerswell, owner of Coco Chocolate, is an artist who works in the medium of chocolate and she is championing ethical production and good taste with her strictly regulated standards of production. From her boutique shops in Kirribilli, Mosman and Edinburgh, Rebecca produces organic, GM free, gluten free, vegan, and fair-trade chocolate. You practically become a better person just by eating it!
And loving it? Well, that’s so easy it’s ludicrous. Her delectable creations are drool-worthy delights! With treats that include organic white chocolate ribboned with forest fruits, dark chocolate spiced with cranberry, cinnamon and nutmeg, chocolate-dipped chilli figs and praline quail eggs, it’s hard to resist bite-sized luxury. This is real chocolate at its best. Modelled on the European tradition, Coco Chocolate is high in cocoa content and sumptuous cocoa butter (the delicious, expensive parts that mass produced chocolate replaces with cheap sugar and powdered milk.)
With her business commitment to trading only with cocoa bean plantations that adhere to strict ethical guidelines, it’s a guilt free pleasure.
Just like the film “Chocolat” (2000), Rebecca is a real-life Vianne, selecting carefully from her creations a perfect flavour to capture a mood or personality. A perfect connoisseur, she can discern between Madagascan and Caribbean chocolate, she strongly believes the only perfect accompaniment to real chocolate is a glass of Mas Amiel and lovingly packages her handmade delicacies, tying the ribbon herself.
Overseeing a team of artisan chocolatiers in Australia & Scotland, Rebecca is dedicated to using the finest ingredients and offering a very special, bespoke product. She founded a chocolatier school in the UK, runs coco tastings and connoisseur courses from her shop in Kirribilli and in 2011 will be opening a Chocolate School in Sydney where students will learn the art of hand tempering on marble.
Article by Estelle Pigot
Tags: Coco Chocolate , Rebecca Kerswell