I’ve a chocolate mousse I rustled up yesterday for a future podcast and Instagram post, so Im taking five to listen to my favourite Dolly track, The Bargain Store and to enjoy every one of the thousands of tiny chocolate bubbles in the mousse.

Pop the kettle on, and I will see you shortly.

Yummy yum yum yum! Chocolate mousse, when made with incredible chocolate, is just jawdropping. Find out more about chocolate mousse in episode four of my new podcast.

We continue with my quest to start my own podcast, and the word Tech looms over me like a dark cloud; at school, I just could not grasp the new technology like my fellow pupils. Floppy discs, hard drives, uploads and downloads were not my friends, yet here I am using more tech than I could ever have imagined.

I got totally fed up with myself thinking I should do that podcast, so I just made the decision one day to get on with it, and what’s the worst that can happen? All the questions started, so I leapt onto my laptop and asked Google the fundamental question: How do I start a podcast? Erm…..thousands of options later, I just plumped for one platform that many people liked and said was user-friendly for the beginner. Riverside.com became my friend; I dove into a language I didn’t understand and forced myself to learn and grasp this strange new world of the podcast. I felt empowered and, slowly over a few weeks, started to understand that starting a podcast doesn’t have to be complicate but you do need the right tools and equipment. This is where things got interesting.

My laptop was old by tech standards, but to me, I still do not understand why these things are made to expire so quickly. I uploaded Riverside, set up an account, and began the process of making The Sweet Spot Podcast, all things sweet an actual thing. First instruction have you got a logo with a name that fits into the specific pixel format for Spotify, Apple Music and all the other podcast providers? No, I do not so I googled how to design this for myself. A few hours later, and Im a Canva Pro! and have designed my logo artwork and decided on the name, making sure it was available to use for my podcast. I felt invincible having done this, really quite pleased with my achievements of the day.

Next was the equipment, and I had put some funds aside for this, but as it’s a new project, I didn’t want to buy expensive, epic professional studio-suitable stuff at this stage. So I bought a Movo podcast case with two dynamic microphones, an interface, two sets of headphones and all the leads, etc to make my voice sound as smooth as melted chocolate.

Im pretty much ready to record a short intro to let you all know what the podcast is and when it will be launching. To make sure I could not get out of this, I asked the team at Saturday Kitchen if I could announce the launch date on my next appearance. A great way to get on with it and not let all the millions of views down. It happened so Im on a deadline now to get recording.

Im ready, or am I? Riverside’s instructional videos are great, and I click onto the next one, which is where you're going to record your podcast. How could I not have thought this part through more? Home is too noisy; daytime at my studio is noisy, and it’s double-height, so even with dynamic microphones it echoes like a cathedral. The only space is mt partner David’s chocolate shop, which is attached to my chocolate studio. It’s small, quiet and muffles with all the chocolate bars on wall shelves. It has to be a Sunday when all the other businesses around me are closed; we can’t have car doors and dogs interrupting proceedings.

There I am, I’ve rigged everything up, following the instructions to the letter and again to the very letter. Testing testing 123, and I can hear my voice as clear and clean as the other podcasts I have listened to. Remember that's only two, so im very happy. I recorded my short intro to announce the podcast, and my laptop is clearly having a meltdown; its fan is going full speed, its running slower than ever, and saving the recording is becoming very challenging. It did save; however, it's very clear my old laptop can not handle Riverside Studio and everything else I have on it. I got some pro advice, and it was time to upgrade. An expense I had not planned for. I ordered a new laptop and two days of ownership, and on the day of recording my first full episode, the charging port in the laptop failed. Now at this point I'm having a meltdown as Im ready now, like when Im ready for TV, you are ready, so it’s go go go and then oh! It’s not go. I have to now buy another new laptop so I can port all of this laptop onto the new one so im not without a laptop for days. Stressful times. At the same time, I am testing my microphones, and something is not right. My voice is not being picked up through the interface, and a five-day back-and-forth of troubleshooting begins with the manufacturer before they then say, please send it back to us in California.

My launch day is only three days away, and I’ve no working laptop and no dynamic microphones with an interface. Is this the universe saying Give up now before you even get started. My new laptop arrives; I port everything over from the laptop that won’t charge and with only just enough power left. I clip on the Wi-Fi microphone that I use for Instagram posts, set up in the chocolate shop and go for it. No fancy equipment and a script, so I don’t go too far off piste. It’s done; my first episode is recorded. It's a taste test of chocolate ice cream with some history and fun facts.

I’ve managed to schedule it for the launch date, and after reading online that it’s good to have two episodes on the launch day, I've recorded episode two without any glitches, but still no fancy microphone or interface. I'm beginning to think I may not need them; I know the sound quality will be much silkier with them. Im all in, and I want to get to ten episodes for this season with a mix of chocolate, desserts, sweets and special guests popping by for a natter about everything sweet.

Im now obsessed with seeing how many downloads my podcast has had, but with over 300 in my first three days, I am absolutely thrilled. My days are now studded with moments of script writing for future episodes, so I hope you have downloaded it, had a listen, liked, commented and shared it with someone you know would like it.

Find it where you listen to your podcasts, searching for The Sweet Spot Podcast, All things sweet, Paul A Young.

My first student, Rose, of Chocolates by Rose, a wonderfully friendly lady who I have taught before and since has become a wonderful friend of the studio and of my partner David's shop, Chocolates of Whitebridge. Rose came to perfect her skills, to elevate her flavours and to enjoy a day with us creating beautiful chocolates. We did just that, and very quickly any first-day nerves dissipated and laughter, conversation and an equal joy of tasting and making set in for the 6 hours ahead. We are now friends. How wonderful.

Teaching when you have something very personal to share is a priveledge and quite a responsibility, so enjoying the process and engagement is a must. I had to decide how much to share and how to do it in a way that my students could relate to so that they can make Chocolates at Home, hence the name. I started making chocolates at home in 2004, and I aim to encourage more people to make chocolates in their home, bakery, restaurant, or even start a side hustle or small business, having learned the skills and techniques first, of course.

My love of ingredients, and in this case, chocolate as the hero, and then an infinite selection of other ingredients that are married to and with the chocolate is what drives my passion. I’ve yet to run out of ideas for texture, taste, flavour and form, so teaching each masterclass or course means a slightly different class every time. I do not run my school from a formulaic stance. It’s a fluid and ever-evolving process where, at the start of every class, we enjoy a hot chocolate, water-based with incredible dark chocolate, fudgy brownies and a signature single-origin water ganache truffle from David’s shop, Chocolates of Whitebridge. This reception of chocolate isn’t just to start the day on a high; it's time to talk, for me to get to know my guests for the day ahead and to understand who they are, what they like and dislike. It sets the tone for the hours we spend together and, most importantly, allows us all to be comfortable enough to laugh with one another. Leaning with fun attached and a looseness of spirit results in joy and memories that mean so much for us all. Then the serious stuff happens: learning the skills, hands-on, nothing pre-prepared, and everything of the very best quality. Chocolate from Firetree is our chosen couverture, for its sustainability, support of cacao farmers, especially female farmers, and it’s intoxicating and inspiring to pair with flavours and ingredients.

Teaching aims to impart skills and knowledge; however, I add into this the ability to impart friendship and kindness, even if it’s just for the few hours we are together or, like many of my guests, become ongoing friends. Imagine a wonderful casserole; it's built on staple ingredients, then the addition of the smaller flavourings and textures, many of them to create the perfect balance and, of course, to make it memorable.

In an over-digitalised, virtual world, making memories that stay with you for life is becoming increasingly challenging. We look at so many images on our devices every day, and rarely for more than a few seconds; we flick past Instagram recipes promising to make it this weekend because it looks and sounds incredible, and we are so busy grasping for moments of mindful joy. With all of this in mind, my role here at the school is to slow down, bring calm before the class, literally slowing time down and bring space to what for many of my guests is a nerve-racking moment when hands touch chocolate and creativity takes over.

Generosity of time and treats: There is never a rush to finish, to get to the finishing time of a chocolate class. Imagine the stress for my guests and for me if the focus was always ‘we finish at 3 pm so let’s sprint ’, no, never. You stay until you have finished creating and learning, so classes always run over. Time is our most valuable resource as we will never experience having enough of it. So when you come for a chocolate class, just know it will run over so you have time to digest the day, decorate and pack your chocolates with finesse.

Eighteen months of joy and creativity, new friends and followers, all with a generous portion of sharing and passing my twenty-two years of chocolate experience. Maybe one of my chocolate school guests will go on to open their own chocolate shop or, as the name suggests, make chocolates at home with memories of a wonderful experience with us.

To join us to make you new memories, visit www.chocolateathome.com

Invented in the 1950’s and popularised by Birdseye mass-production techniques in the early 1970s, Arctic Roll became a prized novelty dessert that swept like one of today’s viral foody trends.

It captured my imagination from a very early age, and as a texture-sensitive person, it was the definition of the three components that I loved. Frozen sponge cake that defied the freezing process, the microscopic layer of red jam that, if quick enough, you would peel from the sponge, and then the overly hard ice cream that needed a good 15-minute wait to thaw a little before I could really enjoy it. I loved dissecting it; today it would be called a Deconstructed Arctic Roll, if anyone saw mine.

So why reinvent it? Well, after a 45-year break from tasting a Birdseye Arctic Roll and thinking about what to make for my upcoming appearance on BBC One Saturday Kitchen Live ( it aired on Saturday 25th July 2026), the heat of this hot summer and my thoughts of getting older, as I've just had my 53rd birthday, have triggered nostalgia and memories of my childhood.

I find Tahini (sesame seed paste) such a wonderful ingredient; its unusual texture, intense taste and its ability to be sweet or savoury got me thinking about my love of it with chocolate. Two intense ingredients brought together in a dessert that always brings smiles and fun to anyone you mention it to. Chocolate and Tahini Arctic Roll, with a milk chocolate caramel layer instead of the red jam.

You can watch Matt and I make it by catching up on iPlayer and give it ago yourself as here is the full recipe.

Ice cream ingredients

300g Double Cream

100g 80% or above Dark chocolate ( I used Firetree chocolate from Tesco)

225mls Condensed Milk

2 tbsp Tahini

You will need an empty ice cream tub (round like Ben and Jerry’s, Haggen Daz)

Whip the cream to soft pillowy peak stage

Melt the chocolate and mix it into the condensed milk.

Fold the chocolate and cream together well.

Swirl in the Tahini not mixing too well as we want a marbled ripple.

Fill your empty ice cream container and freeze for at least 6 hours.

You will have a small amount left over so freeze for eanjoying later.

Sponge Ingredients

4 medium eggs separated

140g caster sugar (split 70g and 70g)

25g cocoa powder

75g Self Raising Flour

50g Melted Butter (cooled slightly)

Whisk the egg whites until white and peaky, slowly add the sugar whisking to form glossy meringue.

Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until light, thick and pale in colour.

Fole the egg whited into the egg yolk mix.

Sieve the cocoa powder and flour into the mix and fold in well.

Now fold in the melted butter.

Spread on a baking paper lined baking tray and bake for 12 to 14 minutes at 175 c

Once baked, lift out and invert onto a tea towel and a sheet baking paper.

Peel off the paper from the back of the sponge and flip it back over so the top of the sponge is facing up.

Caramel Ganache

100mls Double Cream

75g Dark muscovado Sugar ( or dark brown sugar)

150g Milk chocolate 40% cocoa solids (ish) (I used Firetree 40% from Tesco)

Chop the chocolate into very small pieces

Bring the cream and sugar to a simmer.

Pour this onto the chocolate and whisk well until smooth.

To construct the Arctic roll

Ingredients

50g caster sugar for rolling.

Trim the sponge to 1 inch bigger in width of the ice cream container to allow for trimming, using the ice cream container as a template for the length.

Spread the sponge with the caramel ganache and allow to cool.

Remove the ice cream from the container by tearing the card and peeling it off.

Place at the end of the sponge and roll around to cover the ice cream cylinder.

Roll the Arctic roll through caster sugar.

Place back in the freezer for an hour, then trim off the excess sponge and portion into generous slices.

To serve - use a hot wet knife to cut through and wait 5 minutes before eating.

I love the summer sunshine, warm winds and long balmy summer evenings with sub-zero cold sparking wine; for me, it’s Cava or Cremant, Prosecco and me don’t get on. Im not an ice cream fan, so I never dive for the freezer for anything other than ice, and then it’s only one large chunky cube. Do not fill my glass with ice and pour on what is a trickle of liquid that has to squeeze itself between the ice, so it dilutes my drink of choice to a tasteless, pointless glass of unhappiness. Rant over.

Chocolate and the fridge, are they friend or foe?

Should we store our chocolate in the fridge? when its hot and when it’s not?

I store my chocolate in the freezer! I don’t, of course, but these are daily questions in my Instagram inbox. I love engaging with my followers and non-followers. If I decide to post something, then I have the obligation to reply to every comment; I may miss one or two if a post spirals into a flurry of comments.

Engaging with people has been my life, hospitality, my industry, my joy and love, whether cooking, serving or presenting. Being hospitable is basic, easy and fundamental to the joy of everything, especially food and entertaining.

So I have decided to start and launch my new podcast, The Sweet Spot Podcast, All Things Sweet. With my first episodes landing on Tuesday, August 11th, I will have the luxury of time, time to talk, answer your questions, share, giggle, make and create recipes and show skills along with bucket loads of information, facts, tips and little nuggets of joy.

Why a podcast now? It’s your fault, yes, you. Everyone of you reading, following my socials, watching Saturday Kitchen when im creating a dessert and engaging with messages and emails. This is for you, a thank you for being so interested in my choice of career, my decision to celebrate sweet things, and now I can be even more creative.

Chocolate will, of course, feature heavily, but as a pastry chef, chocolatier and chef, I will be sharing more, lots more of the sweet things we all love. Nostalgic favourites, new recipes, special guests, taste tests and up-to-date deep dives into the things that make us all smile.

Desserts and Sweets are the finale of a meal in so many cultures, the celebration of a wedding, birthday, Christmas, Easter, or just a Monday evening on the sofa in heaven with your favourite chocolate bar. They all bring smiles and joy, and I aim to do the same with you.

I will keep you up to date with everything sweet through the seasons, and enjoy the privilege of us being together. So excited and I hope you will join me.

Oh, here it is - You can’t subscribe just yet, but when you can, you will find it where you usually find your podcasts.

I share my thoughts using social media or face-to-face at Chocolate Award judging, events, and on television. I started taste-testing chocolate and confectionery bars earlier this year on Instagram with no expectations at all. It was simple, I kept being asked by my followers and masterclass students, which chocolate should I eat, buy and what about the ingredients. So my quest began.

I decided that my source of chocolate would be the supermarket, as most of us shop in one, and the chocolate available to us is vast. Of course, I say chocolate, knowing that some of it really now cannot be defined as chocolate; however, that’s the category name, so no ranting at me, please! I will use the word chocolate throughout this post, hopefully knowing that you all understand the difference between fake and real chocolate. Under 20% cacao solids is fake and any other fats other than cocoa butter is fake, Vanillin used is a NO! flavourings is a NO! and we go on…….

Understanding the market you work in is vital, and the past months have been so nourishing. The nourishment has come from the engagement, questions and comments of my followers and strangers. My followers have taught me that the knowledge of chocolate for most is small, and that’s not a negative comment. Why would you deep dive into something just because you like eating it? Your expectation is that your favourite bar of chocolate will taste the same as it has for your entire life, the texture and smell should be the same too. We know that multinationals develop and re-engineer their products to cost less to make, but charge the consumer more. This isn’t new news, of course, but what I have learned in my taste tests is that sharing candid information results in change, a change of buying, mindset and understanding of the product, its ingredients, its origins and its value for money.

I chose not to focus my taste testing around ethics, cocoa bean sourcing or farmer support, which has angered some people. This is an educational journey, and as with all learning, one cannot throw and bombard people with all the information in a tidal wave of ranting. Let’s begin with taste, price and ingredients to understand exactly what we are buying and eating, then progress so my followers can make considered decisions and choices based on the information and of course, freedom of choice. Im not here to dictate as if we all only ate small batch bean to bar chocolate, this would result in thousands and thousands of cocoa farmers being out of work. This is the challenging cycle we aim to change, and it’s going to take everyone, not just a niche.

Some wonderful news is that Firetree chocolate, made in Peterborough, Bean to Bar, ethican bean sourcing, farmer supported, so they are paid well, is now available in Tesco. How cool is this! Real bean-to-bar chocolate in the supermarket. The best way to educate shoppers is to have the choice there to be purchased, and its price point isn’t eyewatering, as some of the huge brands like Lindt are at the same price point, without the ethical credentials.

So what did I taste? so far covering milk chocolate, dark chocolate, 100% chocolate, Dark Milk chocolate, white chocolate, fruit and nut and chocolate spread.

There are so many to taste and im not able to taste all of them. Of course, it’s a slice of the pie and im so happy to say that many of my followers have made the change and chosen to now buy chocolate without Palm oil, shea butter, flavourings, and vanillin.

Step by step, we can make a change together, and it begins with small, simple steps and lots of determination.

Share your thoughts, and I look forward to more chocolate conversation.

This spring, I started a series of Instagram posts with the focus on the chocolate bar ingredients, taste and price only. It’s impossible to review all the brands and types of chocolate available to us; however, I feel a responsibility as a chocolatier, consumer and having the public platform to inform as many people as I can what is and is not real chocolate. Also, when it is real chocolate, what the language of chocolate is, the definitions, and ingredients, alongside the taste and texture. What we pay for our chocolate and chocolate fakes is so important to understand. I have publicly expressed on TV and in written media that I have and do on occasion enjoy a confectionery (candy bar) for the nostalgia and memory; however, all have changed so much that I struggle to experience that feeling anymore. It’s very sad to see these products become shadows of what they used to be. They are part of our lives and sit beside all our chocolate products, or used to.

When chocolate is no longer chocolate, when the percentage of cocoa solids drops below 20%, and cocoa butter is replaced by palm oil/fat, shea butter, mango kernel oil, and flavourings that have no name, we are in dangerous territory.

Im processing the loss, memories are sacred, and thankfully I have memories of these chocolate bars being real, being authentic and enjoyable.

We are now slowly seeing alternatives creeping in, with a Take 4 ( KitKat alternative) being launched into Marks and Spencer. It’s an opportunity for a chocolate brand to jump in and bring us real chocolate bars for those snacking times. Its ok to snack when the ingredients are real and in moderation. Thats my opinion and im sticking with it. Who doesn’t love a cup of tea or coffee and a chocolate biscuit or snack bar?

The journey of my taste testing will continue and will cover some of the questions that need to be asked and answered to allow informative and considered decisions when buying chocolate.

Im also learning so much, it’s been a long time since I’ve bought so many chocolate bars from our supermarkets and high street shops. Surprising ingredients, shrinkflation, how expensive poor quality chocolate and fake chocolate is, and the marketing and packaging to encourage sales.

If you would like to join in the conversation Im here, ready for questions and comments, especially in my Instagram @paulyoungchef.

Pancake day, Shrove Tuesday I just get so excited about, not for any religious reason, not to use up my eggs and milk, but for me its the gap in the creaking wintery door to spring and a foody way to bring light and fun onto our dinner and tea time tables.

Its scarsity that I love, not having pancakes every week, month or even quarterly that makes them so very special. Simple ingredients nearly identical to Yorkshire Pudding batter, with the first pancake always, and I mean always being a disaster. Its too thick, a bit stodgy, it sticks, wont flip over and nearly always scortched by having the pan just a micro degree too hot. Still its my favourite one to eat before any others make it to the table. I like the stodge, just like a Yorkie Pud with a heavy bottom. Oh Heaven!

I adore Lemon juice and Sugar, sweet and sour enough to make your lips feel numb slightly and all the enamel on your teeth to just give up and vaporize. Oh! do you recall the plastic Jif lemon, filled with lemon juice that lasts a lifetime? I had forgotten about it until just this moment of writing. I love this feeling, a memory trapped by distraction and life, waiting to be freed again. Also, Ive a memory of a Jif Lime, am I right? or have I made that up? Please do let me know if you recall a plastic lime filled with forever lime juice.

We are way more adventurous now with our choice of pancake fillings. You may be surprised at what I don’t like in mine - here is the list, brace yourself;

Strawberries in any combination with another ingredient, cheap chocolate sauce from a bottle that contains no chocolate of any description, Nutella, Berries of any kind, Aerosol cream, Fake caramel sauce, Biscoff spread.

What I do love, here is my list -

Lemon juice, zest and sugar, Melted dark chocolate (real chocolate), Golden Syrup ( Tate and Lyle only), Honey, Orange juice and zest with a splash of Grand Mariner or Cointreau, Gruyere cheese, Sea salted caramel (home made), Icing sugar and butter (butter cream). Chocolate Maple Butter ( as in the photo)

What do you like? have you any unusual combinations and like me, do you only have pancakes once a year?

Happy Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day.

Reaching out to as many chocolate businesses, chefs, bakers, pastry chefs and chooclate shop owners was our first task, to test interest, to gauge what kind of feedback and excitement would help fuel Chocolate Week. This takes weeks and weeks of emailing, messaging via social media and phone calls which at first I found quite challenging until I realised that by doing this simple task of reaching out meant I was bonding with the very people in my industry that make it so special and unique. I now live in Staffordshire, a new area for me and the surrounding area even more so, so I took a very deep dive into researching as many businesses that use chocolate, cacao or cocoa from the Midlands heading north, east and west as I could. I found a new connection with the areas around me, Ive not met most of the business owners I contacted however I do feel a connection that I had not had for a long time. Living in London for twenty eight years of course gave me a very strong bond with the chocolate industry as with any large city you have a healthy and strong footfall, pool of people to direct your marketing, your ideas and your products too. Outside of the cities I found less of a bond between the chocolate business owners mainly due to most being small micro businesses run by small teams, couples or individuals meaning time was scarce, and in high demand. I recall this feeling well and its challenging to allocate time to industry events and activities that end up being city focused.

This is why UK chocolate week works so very well as we were not asking anyone to attend a specific event but to share their business on social media tagging in UKchocolateweek by promoting themselves and their wonderful products which then encourage more customers to shop local, to visit for the first time and to attend a chocolate event for the first time.

I felt a very strong bond with my industry for the eighteen years of having paul a young fine chocolates, and this bond was integral to its success. The past few years especially in those lockdown years this bond was weakened for many of us so this year we have all made a generous effort to re-build the bond, to connect so many of us together even if thats virtually.

Last week I ran two events with my partner David, owner of The Sweet Shop of Whitebridge, Stone. Both brought strangers together, both planted small seeds of new friendships, all because of our love of cacao, cocoa, and chocolate. The joy I feel when I can bring a room of people together at the same time, tasting the same chocolate while laughing, chatting and joking is priceless. I love running events like this, it bonds me to something intangible and unique. It helps me find friendships in a new place and reminds me that all of us just want connection. We are hard wired for human connection and friendships even when they adapt, change and evolve over time. Chocolate Week brought so many people together and that makes it very special.

Those two events were a 20 year anniversary sea salted caramel event with champagne, chooclate canapes and a demonstration by me creating my award winning chocolate and a joyous Port and Chocolate pairing evening at The award winning Fitzherbert Arms, Swynnerton, Staffordshire. This was on Friday evening and finished rather late, getting home close to midnight, and a very early start the next day to drive to London.

Saturday was my final event at Big Penny Social in Walthamstow with Jennifer Earl/The Next Delicious Thing. It was Jen’s twenty year anniversary of her Chooclate Ecstasy tours so she organsied a chocolate fair with tasting events, and she at short notice allowed me to demonstrate my sea sated caramel chocolate also in its twentieth year. I caught up with so many past customers, industry friends and made new connections in a short space of time which ended my chocolate week on a high.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated, took part, supported local small businesses, posted on social media and to those who feel inspired to take part in 2026.

New chocolate recipes coming very soon in time for the festivities to begin.

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Growing up in the 1970’s butter, lard and vegetable oil were the only fats that were used in daily essentials I had, like bread, biscuits, cakes and crackers. Pastry was either all butter, half butter and half lard or all lard if making hot water pastry for pork pies. Biscuits were proudly made using butter, butter is flavour and gives a short texture that melts in the mouth. Margarine was the new baking ingredient in the early 1980s, and then BOOM! artificial fat and water emulsions to slather on our toast hit the supermarket, lots that promised to taste like butter but didn’t, some claimed to be healthier by being made from sunflower oil and other vegetable-based oils and then Palm Oil/Fat slid into these products to cheapen and increase profits.

This post is not about the world’s environment, our precious orangutans, nor the deforestation of rainforest, or the habitat Cacao Trees grow and thrive. This post is simply my sadness and frustration that Palm fat predominantly, and other highly processed seed oils have become acceptable substitutes for butter and lard.

So at home and at work, Palm fat and ultra-processed oils are out, and butter, olive, nut and seed oils that are as pure as possible from incredible producers are in.

My partner David eats a lot of crackers as he loves cheese, extra mature, tangy, tingly and intense cheddars particularly. The shocking part is that the crackers he loves all now have palm fat in them, and we can’t always get to the shops that sell clean crackers. So once a week, I have a cracker-baking evening to restock the empty cracker container. Crackers are not hard to make, they are cheaper to make than to buy the same quality, and they are free of anything ultra-processed and 100% taste better. It’s a theraputic baking evening and like me you will never buy crackers again once you have made your own.

I’ve been playing with texture, seeds, spices, sweetness and salt levels to get them just right, and I think I have got to a happy place for our ‘House Blend’ go-to cheese cracker.

Now, if you read my last post, you know I don’t believe in perfectionsism. I have to make “Perfect chocolates” as a job; however, not everything has to be a carbon copy perfect. Some things are more pleasing when they look properly homemade, you could say, wonky or even rustic. I don’t use a cutter but simply cut the rolled dough with a sharp knife into straight-sided pieces. The edges, I don’t worry if they are wobbly, uneven, and I don’t trim the dough to a perfect square before cutting. You can see from my photos, I like them all uneven.

Tips to get the perfect cracker.

1. Turn the baking tray around halfway through baking for an even bake.

2. Put smaller crackers in the middle of the baking tray so they cook a touch slower.

3. Be sure they are all golden and crisp before removing from the oven, as underbaked crackers are leathery and taste raw.

4. Roll the cracker as thin as you dare; seeds and inclusions will dictate how thin you can go.

   The stages of making your crackers.

To make around 40 crackers.

• 225g Plain flour

• 1/2 tsp Baking powder

• 35 mls Virgin olive oil or butter

• 1 tsp Sea salt

• 1 tsp Unrefiend caster sugar

• 1 tsp Fennel seeds

• Half tsp black mustard seeds

• Half tsp crushed black pepper

• 100 mls Cold water

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C/fan, 180 degrees C convection, Gas mark 6

Mix everything into a shaggy dough in a mixing bowl.

Knead the dough for one minute lightly on a floured surface until smooth and bouncy.

Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to no thicker than 2mm.

Cut into your desired size and shape.

Dust your baking tray with flour, and bake your first batch for 12 to 15 minutes until crisp and golden.

Cool on a wire rack until stone cold before storing in an airtight container and eating within two months.

Enjoy them, share them and they make great gifts at Christmas by adding some dried sage to the mix.

Can you make a chocolate version to enjoy with cheese? Yes, and paid subscribers will be able to see my new recipe for Cocoa nib crackers for cheese.

Coupe, Flute or Wine glass?, Im not a fan of the flute, either I have a huge nose, so unable to comfortably drink without tipping my head so far back, it’s not elegant, or they are just too narrow. For me, it’s a coupe all the way or a wine glass if a coupe is not an option. The coupe for me is elegant, easy to drink from; however, never overfill to avoid sloshy spillages.

Kettner’s in Soho has been a favourite of mine for twenty years or more, and David for more than thirty years. It has a feeling, a long history that I can feel and enjoy. Sitting at the bar, enjoying a rare day of downtime, we sipped our champagne before enjoying lunch in the restaurant. Stunning food and 6 freshly baked Madeleines with Creme Chantilly for dessert seemed like the perfect end to our very relaxed lunch.

Both our bar seats and restaurant seats has clear views of my favourite patisserie in London, and it opened in 1871, so it’s not the latest new place. I also had a strong feeling, or maybe emotion, about the obsession with what is next, what is new, how pastries and viennoiseries are being reinvented over and over again to keep up with the demands of social media trends and of course to keep customers queuing for the limited amount a human can make each day or night as it usually is being a baker. I experienced the intense anxieties of having to come up with the next big thing when I ran my chocolate business in London. I often felt crushed and overwhelmed by the demand to always have something new, something groundbreaking, as if I didn’t come up with the next new thing, someone else would, and what would there be to shout about or gain press for. Ok, my ranting is over.

We see so many new food businesses opening and closing within months or a couple of years, and with all the rising costs of running a business, you have to get your product and service on point from the outset. One of the problems I see is the lightning speed of products changing, giving you and the business no time for them to become favourites, classics and best sellers, your go-to indulgents you can get everytime.

Maison Bertaux at the lower end of Greek Street in Soho is the oldest patisserie in London, started by Monsieur Bertaux, a refugee from the Paris Commune. Now it’s run and co-owned by Michele and her sister Tania. I love Michele, her passion and intensity of ownership, I can feel deeply. I’ve been enjoying the unique atmosphere at Maison Bertaux so long now that it feels homely and familiar, and it was the first patisserie I visited in London as a pastry chef in the 1990s. I have such a bond with the place as does David, as we love the classic French style that is not trying to be the next big thing. Michele and her team are not reinventing the classics over and over; they stay true to their craft and deliver a feeling of nostalgia and authenticity that I feel is lacking now. Japanese visitors to London flock there for authentic patisserie and now an excellent British scone.

Im never disappointed with my Croissant, which is buttery and flakey, Almond Croissant, which, to say, is generously filled and topped would be an understatement. My Mont Blanc is clean, fresh and light, my Eclair, which isn’t carbon copy perfect every time, has knobbles and is filled with Creme Chantilly and has a generous chocolate top is divine. I could go on as Im sure you can tell. I love innovation, I made a successful business by being innovative. However, FOMO ( The Fear Of Missing Out), I feel, may be detrimental to our industry in the decades to come, when constant reinvention may not give us these authentic recipes and products. They haven’t changed much at all. Time passing and being able to keep quality high and customers happy is the secret to owning a business over a long period and developing a place to visit that never disappoints. It’s not style over substance as it’s incredibly hard to keep authenticity and to pass on the skills needed to achieve this.

To explain my point on FOMO, if we are always in fear of missing the next new thing, the next new invention of something that is already perfection (see my note on perfection at the end of this post), how will we have authentic, nostalgic recipes and products in years to come? Having the balance is key; if you have a new business, spend more time focused on keeping the quality of your classic products high and as remembered by your long-term customers. To suggest an example, If I had changed the recipe of my Sea Salted Caramel, which became a classic, a mainstay and a customer favourite, I would have lost a huge chunk of my customers. We made the classics, the collection that never changed, then had some innovation and unusual creations to sit alongside.

Is reinventing always the best way forward?

My note on perfection - It does not exist, of course, it’s impossible to achieve and can be the thief of time and creativity; however, each one of us has our interpretation of perfection.

One person’s experience of perfection cannot be judged by another.

Then the other issue is chocolate in the summer heat, unless you carry a coolbag and ice packs with you on the off chance of buying your favourite chocolate, then it’s a swift eat before it goes through the stages from snappy crisp, fudgy and bendy to all-out liquid chocolate. I love all the textures of chocolate, but it’s just challenging to eat in the heat.

With temperatures rising and still at least two months of summer to come, I had to create a drink that includes dark chocolate and the refreshing tingle of sparkling water. Fizzy chocolate drinks are not available in shops, so making your own is the only way. It’s super easy, fast and a much healthier way to enjoy a fizzy drink than the ultra-processed products out there.

For 4 large glasses of soda, you will need the following ingredients.

For the chocolate syrup.

• 25g Cocoa Powder

• 4 tbsp Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave syrup

• Pinch of sea salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

To serve

• Sparkling Water

• Ice

• Mint leaves or orange zest twist - Optional

To make the chocolate syrup

• Bring of water with vanilla extract, sea salt and the honey or syrup to the boil and simmer for one minute. Take care as it can boil over very quickly.

• Take off the heat and cool.

• Once cool, mix well.

To serve

• Half fill a glass with ice.

• Pour two-thirds full with sparkling water, then pour in the chocolate syrup.

• Stir carefully and taste, add more syrup if you want a stronger soda.

• Add smashed mint leaves or a twist of orange zest and serve.

Additional tips and notes

• Make the syrup in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

• Add a shot of your favourite spirit for a boozy chocolate soda.

• Buy the very best cocoa powder you can so you get the best flavour possible.

I hope this becomes your new favourite summer soda as it has mine. Share your thoughts, photos, where you are enjoying yours and who with.

Happy Summer Vibes to you all.

Paul x

I’ve so many recipes to write, create and photograph for my Substack; however, the last few weeks I have been by the side of my partner David as he embarks on a new career after retiring last year. You may know that I now have a studio space to teach and train anyone wishing to get hands-on with chocolate making. David naturally started to show a keen interest in the craft of making chocolates, baking brownies, cookies, and he loves a nostalgic sweet or two. Within the studio is a room which became a reception area for only a few weeks, as David saw the space and was inspired to transform it into his sweet/chocolate shop. This meant some intensive chocolate training was needed so he could create and make his own chocolates, fudges, chocolate wafers, etc.

David immersed himself in the world of fine chocolate by assisting at Chocolate Unwrapped 2024, being my assistant at all my chocolate classes, events and training sessions, taking part in chocolate tastings, lots of reading and practising tempering.

It wasn’t long before I was the person tasting David’s creations and guiding him through the tricky job of product development. I love product development as you just never quite know what the result will be and if it will meet or exceed your expectations. When you first start developing, it rattles your nerves as to how do you know if it will be good enough, is it commercially viable, will it have the shelf life required, and will it sell. My role now is to support and help David navigate this wonderful new life and the challenges it will bring. It’s new for me, as having had chocolate shops for 18 years, I was in the thick of it, this time my role is on the other side and just being there when I am needed.

The work began when David wanted not just to make chocolates but also to sell traditional and nostalgic sweets, Liquorice, bean-to-bar chocolate and beautiful greeting cards. David has been keeping a record of the British bean-to-bar makers he loves: Dormouse, FireTree, Pump Street, Table Chocolate, Bare Bones, Mayhawk, Land and Bullion. The job now is to learn everything about the chocolate bars, tasting over and over to understand each one in depth. All are now in the shop and the only collection of British Bean to Bar in Staffordshire.

Who doesn’t love a traditional sweet and vibrant, intoxicating liquorice? Well, yes, liquorice can be divisive, but for me it’s so intriguing. Eight years ago, I filmed a series for BBC2 called The Sweet Makers, and I had the opportunity to make traditional sweets from scratch, and I loved it. For a moment, I did think about making boiled sweets for a new career. David did so much research and planning so that the sweets and liquorice he stocks are clean of palm oil, harmful flavourings and colourings. This has meant he cannot stock many of our and your favourite sweets. It is sad to see sweets that were traditionally made with butter now being made with palm oil or natural flavourings being replaced with artificial ones. It’s happening with so much of our food, and it’s very sad. As an example, we looked at Traditional Yorkshire Fudge, made to an authentic family recipe as it should be, etc etc, etc… The second ingredient was Palm Fat. We are so angry that small businesses using all the marketing words possible to say a product is authentic can replace butter, which is fundamental to the taste and flavour of real fudge. There is an easy solution: David now makes his own fudge onsite, one using Madagascan vanilla and the other using 80% dark chocolate.

Next was the important and challenging job of creating the branding and logo. We spent hours at the laptop getting inspired and going back and forth with ideas, and chose a logo that one day we both loved the next looked rather much like an estate agent logo. David chose vibrant, contrasting colours with a deep blue background, making the name pop and really stand out. He loves it, I love it, and his customers so far have said they love it too.

Originally, David was going to open in October, around the time of Chocolate Week 2025; however, one morning, the decision was made to just get on and open, giving time to fine-tune and tweak during the summer months. We had no idea that the opening day on Thursday, 19th June, was going to be one of the hottest of the year.

The shop was ready to open the day before, having spent the past week stocking, cleaning, dressing, labelling and checking the details over and over. Im a big believer in having your shop ready to open the day before so you can just sit, be in the space, move around, feel comfortable and know where everything lives before you let any customers through the door. It looks wonderful, Im so proud of David and here are the photos of David’s first shop.

Thursday 19th June, 10 am, David opens the door and within minutes, a steady stream of customers throughout the day came to smell, taste, buy and chat. I was on hand to assist David, restock and pack chocolates for customers. The support from local residents and the residents of Whitebridge Industrial Estate, where we are located, has been wonderful. It is very refreshing for me to be on the other side of retail, in a supporting role, and still able to be creative and productive while I see David blossom in his new adventure.

There will be new product launches from David, and I will be making some guest appearances along the way. Keep your eye on the socials for all the updates.

Make a weekend of it in Stone, Staffordshire, by visiting The Sweet Shop of Whitebridge and taking a chocolate class with me at our Chocolate At Home Studio.

The Sweet Shop has two social media accounts with all the new product details, opening times - Facebook, The Sweet Shop Of Whitebridge and Instagram thesweetshopofwhitebridge

I found her recipe three weeks ago in my large box of handwritten and printed recipes, which now spans over five decades. He notes on the recipe say, This is my favourite . So mum must have tried other fudge recipes and chose this to be the one I remember with now with great fondness.

It’s a soft fudge, not the hard and sugary type, it has an intense butterscotch and vanilla flavour with a toffee aftertaste.

This is her handwritten recipe, and the conversion below so you can make it and experience how wonderful it is. I have upgraded vanilla essence to extract to keep the ingredients as natural as possible.

Conversion of quantities.

• 4 level tablespoons golden syrup

• 284 ml Whole, full cream milk

• 284 ml sweetened condensed milk

• 226g Butter

• 904g Granulated sugar

• Quarter teaspoon cream of tartar

• Half teaspoon vanilla extract.

Temperature conversion

• 240 Fahrenheit ( soft ball stage) 115 Celsius.

Can you make a chocolate fudge with this recipe?

Yes! and it’s amazing. Add 200g of 80% or above dark chocolate to the fudge mix at the beating stage, and you will have a slightly firmer fudge with a very chocolatey taste.

I do hope you give it a try and experience the taste or real fudge without any nasties, palm fat and artificial flavourings seem to be in so much shop-bought fudge.

So, back to the foody things, I don’t remember.

I had a recipe featured in my favourite food Magazine in what I think is 2021, as the photo on my mobile is labelled with the date I took the photo of the page in the magazine. So it’s likely this isn’t even true. Cherry Syrup Brownies, and the photo, as you can see looks incredible. Thanks to Delicious Magazine’s wonderful home economist, photography and styling teams. Photo credited to Delicious Magazine.

I have no memory of this, and it’s not the only foody thing, recipe or event I cannot remember. It is in print, it exists, it happened, and I was part of it; however, my brain did not make an imprint strong enough to have a recall for either creating the recipe or seeing it in print at the time. I only know this as I have photos in my phone.

I know what you are asking, if you can’t remember, how are you writing about it? It’s all on my phone in photos, notes and Google Drive documents. This next dish, a dessert creation, is in my phone; I clearly must have made it, but what is it? No memory at all, and I absolutely can’t stand cooked banana other than in banana bread. Flat bread, Pizza or cookie? You decide. I have no recipe written down, no notes or people to ask to gain context.

I’ve had, over the past 20 years, many episodes of memory difficulty and only once did I see my GP about it, as I was convinced that something more serious was at play here. Then the worry sets in, and worry creates anxiety and more worry, and then the spiral begins. He was very clear in what he explained, as over many years I was working at a pace and intensity that now I look back on and gasp! Im shocked at how much time and energy I was ploughing into my business. I worked, lived to work, had no outside of work activities, hobbies, nor time to dedicate to reading, learning anything, and at times, no time I thought to see friends and family. The hard work did bring so much joy to so many people and gave me opportunities that dreams are made of. I was burning out, I became a spectator in my own life, and I was running on autopilot without mentally recording or remembering events, recipes, occasions, people’s names, and places I visited. This is the first time I have openly talked about this, and it has been spurred on by Heston Blumenthal being so honest and open about the effects of being obsessed with work and the effect on the brain and body.

There are many positives, however, as this realisation now has me thinking about all the forgotten foods, recipes, dishes and bakes I’ve had in my life that are not on trend, made any more, or just things I had the opportunity to eat once. I have taken a deep dive into my recipe archive as I have my great grandma’s, grandma’s and my mum’s recipe books, all handwritten and an incredible memory board for me to remember some of the things I was lucky enough to enjoy growing up as a child.

From my family recipe archives, here are my top five forgotten things I ate, and I plan to recreate and share the recipes for you.

1. Mum’s Vanilla Fudge.

2. Coconut Haystacks.

3. Grandma’s Bacon and Egg Pie.

4. Paradise Squares.

5. Rock cakes.

Many of the things I enjoyed that no longer exist and that also trigger my nostalgia buttons were shop bought, of course, and include Texan bars, Banjo, Aztec bars, Chewits, Weekend chocolates, Bar six, Topic, and I could go on and on.

Which chocolate bar do you miss? And which one would you like me to recreate for a future post? Im so excited to see what you suggest, and the most popular, I will develop the recipe, and create a post so you can make it too.

Ask your friends and family for suggestions too.

Thank you for subscribing and reading this to the very end.

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I love a filled, deep-filled chocolate bar with many textures, flavours and tastes. It allows the chocolatier have fun and creates a new eating experience. It’s why in my book The Joy Of Chocolate, I had to include a filled bar recipe that was all about fun, flavour and texture. it’s called Charlie’s Chocolate Bar with a huge nod to Charlie Bucket, the golden ticket winner in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory movie. I think this would be a bar he would create as it can be filled with anything at all.

For the bar mould and coating. For 5 to 6 bars

600g Milk chocolate (tempering method below)

Ingredients for the filling

18 Mini marshmallows

2 Chocolate chip cookies

25g Peanut butter

100g Sea salted caramel

6 to 8 Mini crunchy salted Pretzels

6 to 8 Brownie pieces –

To make

Temper the milk chocolate (method below), ready for moulding and mould your bar or food container with quite a thick layer of chocolate so that you have a cavity to fill with all the ingredients. To do this, fill the mould with chocolate and tap our the air bubbles, let the mould sit for 30 seconds and then tip out the chocolate, leaving a thick shell of chocolate.

Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Remove the shells from the bar mould or food container and place on a wire rack.

The first layer of filling will be peanut butter, about one third full, then sprinkle on small chunks of the chocolate chip cookies.

Pipe or spoon on one third of caramel.

Now fill the bar with mini marshmallows, pretzels and brownie pieces being generous and allowing the pieces to be spikey and architectural.

Spoon over tempered milk chocolate to fully enrobe and cover all the filling of the bars. Tap the wire rack to bring off any excess chocolate.

Lift off the rack onto a baking paper lined tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

We eat with our eyes so a little decorating is needed to make them really pop by melting some white chocolate and piping a series of very fine lines across one end of the bar.

Always eat at room temperature and always share them with only the people you love or want to impress.

Photography by Louise Hagger (Published by Kyle Books)

Seeding method of tempering.

600g milk chocolate

Bring a pan of water to a simmer and then remove from the heat.

Break the chocolate up into small chunks and add three-quarters to a metal bowl.

Set the bowl over the pan to make a bain-marie, ensuring the bottom does not come into direct contact with the water.

Let the chocolate gradually melt to 55°C, 131 f, stirring slowly and continuously.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining chocolate pieces. Slowly stir the chocolate until it melts and reaches 27–28°C. 80-81F

Place the bowl of chocolate back over the pan of water and set over a low heat. Reheat to 31–32°C, 87-88f, making sure the chocolate does not exceed 32°C 88f.

The temper test – Dip a knife into the chocolate and allow it to set on the knife with a satin sheen. If the chocolate does not set within 3 minutes, then keep mixing the chocolate to bring the temperature down.

Using a heat gun or hair dryer is also a very good method to warm the chocolate to keep it fluid for moulding and enrobing.

Wrap your bars in planet-friendly wrappers and store in a cool dry place, and enjoy within 4 weeks.

We met via Facebook on a random day at a random moment in time, and one year on, both our lives have been transformed. This newsletter is not about me, so as you know a lot about me, I will jump forward to how David decided to open a high-end sweet and chocolate shop.

We both love food and especially sweet things. David has a sweet tooth, and I am very happy to be the feeder by making and baking so we have regular elevenses. When we met, my work was predominantly teaching my Chocolate At Home Masterclasses, demonstrating at food festivals and product development, and as I worked from home, David was exposed to wonderful couverture, bean-to-bar chocolate, truffles and filled chocolates. It’s clear to say it didn’t take David long to fall in love with fine chocolate, and he gradually began to help me with the work I had, and was learning quickly about the industry. When I was tasting chocolate for judging, he would taste it too to train his palate to identify the complexities of fine chocolate. When I created chocolates for Chocolate Unwrapped Chocolate Event 2024, he helped make them, he lifted, carried, cleaned and helped make Chocolate Unwrapped a great event. When I found a space to teach from, he was all in to help with DIY, styling, design, product, and now he assists with all our chocolate masterclasses. So you could say he has had some intensive training in the space of a year. When David sets his mind on doing something, he is 100% in, all in, deep dive in and committed.

We have a room as part of the Chocolate At Home Studio, which was our reception area to welcome our class guests. David saw potential to use the space for his own project, his own concept and direction. It’s not a large space, however, it is perfectly formed for a shop, and David has a wonderful eye for design. So, turning an office into a shop is something he will do very well. It has a front window with a deep sill perfect for a window display, it has high ceilings, and an interior window brings more light into the space. It’s perfect.

The Sweet Shop of Whitebridge was the name David decided upon quite naturally, and his inspiration came from some wonderful friends of ours in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The Pot and Pineapple is a glorious shop of mainly British gifts, a huge liquorice selection, alcohol and bean-to-bar chocolate from UK producers. I had held a few incredible events with Emma, the owner, at her shop when I lived close by in 2024. We held tastings of the bean-to-bar chocolate, then added in some alcohol pairings, Burns night being a highlight. David supported me on the Burns night events, and it solidified his decision to open his own shop.

Im giggling while writing this as David just said, You inspired me to open my shop. Inspiration has to come from many places, so Im very touched to have helped be part of David’s journey.

Once a decision has been made to start a new venture, it consumes and lives with you as the list of to-dos just keeps getting longer, and the decisions keep growing. As you know, I have extensive experience in opening shops, and my natural urge is to project manage, but not this time. David has designed his branding, his image, his USP, his layout, and with some guidance along the way, chosen the nostalgic sweets to stock, fine liquorice and is having intensive chocolate training with me in becoming a chocolatier. This is by no means an easy task, it takes so much work to find your style and to master the skills. He does have a wonderful teacher, however. David will be creating a collection of handmade chocolates and making them in our studio space for the shop. I will be making a few guest appearances with some chocolate products along the way, too as my reignited creativity grows.

I am so proud of David, it’s a huge undertaking, it’s long hours, lots of repetition of making and creating, endless cleaning up, and tonnes of dedication needed, which he has in spades. I would say this: the years do fly past; however, you can fill the days and months with anything you want to, you can take that risk, that leap, that decision to flip your life on its head and start a new career. It’s brave, yes, and it’s expensive, but imagine the cost of not trying, not taking the leap and having a new adventure. He is an example to so many of how to start again and live a very full and exciting life.

David hasn't opened his shop yet, but it won’t be long and I will of course, let you know the shop opening news as it happens.

So what happened to lose my creativity, and how is my brain allowing it to emerge again?

I have been blessed with an idea’s brain, or possibly cursed, who is to say. When I say I have an idea’s brain, Im trying to explain that it never shuts off when it comes to the creativity of making something and especially when the idea is making food. Being a chef is one thing, but being a chef once you have years of experience behind you means you become a decision maker of what is being cooked, created, developed and eaten by your customers. It is a priveledge to have this position in one’s working life. It is also one of the most vulnerable places to be day in and day out. You open your work and yourself to positive and negative criticism. For me, anything I create is a deep part of me, even if it’s the same thing over and over and over again. Sea salted caramels, for example, I cannot begin to estimate how many I have made over the past twenty years, hundreds of thousands all by hand; however, I can tell you how many I’ve made in the past 18 months, only 200 or so.

I knew my ability to create new flavour combinations, textures, colours, and innovative chocolate products began to change around sixteen years into running Paul A Young Fine Chocolates. Wow! What an amazing journey this was, and the saying that it had its extreme highs and crazy lows is pretty accurate. Im so grateful to have had the opportunity to create at this level and to share my skills with training so that many of our team became wonderful chocolatiers. I thought I was running out of ideas, that I was unable to fulfil my role, to meet the expectations of our customers, the media and the industry itself. Luckily, we had a team that was able to support this and were able to share their ideas and creative thinking so that the load was shared among us. This, of course, was great, but deep down I knew I had a void within me. The void became a huge cave of darkness, with no new ideas, and I was unable to absorb new creative experiences, tastes, flavours, textures or anything that fed my creativity.

You have likely already figured out my next line: Burnout, severe exhaustion after years of working relentlessly. I had been tired, worn out, and exhausted before in past jobs as a chef as the hours were also brutal, but this was on another level. I asked for help, I cannot imagine where I would be if I had not. With so much advice out there on how to overcome burnout, I decided to listen to my GP, reduce work hours dramatically and look at mindful ways to help. I do have a spiritual side, which helped me so much, as it in itself is quite creative in its practice. Meditation, allowing the mind to rest for hours and hours, cooking, walking, and music were all helpful. I did not try to be creative writing daily, which is where my book The Joy Of Chocolate with Kyle Books was born. I needed some structure, so the deadline of the book was very helpful and at times very methodical in its progression.

Time passed, and I knew the road ahead was a long one. I fought with my brain wanting to dive deep into working flat out again, but that was not an option physically or mentally. I sat for days, by the sea in Staithes, North Yorkshire, allowing my brain and body to decompress, heal, rest, and rebuild. The thing I had done close to every day for 18 years was not there, and the bereaved feeling of loss became apparent. I made a handful of chocolates over several months and didn’t try to be creative, other than I took a sea glass class and created a picture for my folks. I loved it. So much fun and no pressure, deadline or judgement from anyone.

One thing I had kept going was my teaching, Chocolate At Home, I invited people into my home so I could share my knowledge and skills in an environment that my guests were familiar with so able to then make chocolates in their home. It was joyous, and the conversations were wonderful, fun and filled with laughter. Im so grateful to have had these scattered days in the diary, and I made some wonderful friends. This helped my brain reconnect with creativity in small doses, and I was in control of when and how.

A house move to Staffordshire to be with my partner was a huge step in reigniting my creativity and not how you may think. I was now cooking dinner most evenings, and I like to make a different dinner every evening. Creativity was on full speed as I was obviously trying to impress with my cooking skills every evening, and it has brought back the skills, retrained my brain, and now my chocolate creativity is bubbling away.

Today I had a play day, a reason to play and be creative in our chocolate studio in Stone, Staffordshire. It’s where we run Chocolate At Home Masterclasses and events. I mixed my cocoa butter colours and hand-painted my mould with all the colours, not worrying about what colour works or complements the others. Just being free with the paintbrush and taking time to be creative. I love what the result is. What do you think? I love them so much that they are being gifted to a friend for her birthday.

So take as much time as you need to be creative, allow yourself to rest, to heal and don’t put pressure on yourself to be creative. You have to feed your creativity when you feel you can, and if you feel burnt out, overwhelmed and unable to be creative, ask for help, stop, and wait, wait as long as it takes.

Today, I am excited to see what I can create tomorrow, next week, and for the years to come, something new and unique, I hope.