Wilkies Chocolate - In Season

Mention Easter and the first food association likely to come to mind is chocolate. It’s an all year favourite, of course, but it has seasonal peaks at Christmas, Valentines and, especially, Easter when we must get through mind boggling amount of eggs, bunnies and other chocolatey treats.

The Irish obsession with chocolate is well documented - we’re the third biggest consumers in the world, on par with the UK and coming behind only Switzerland and Germany, arguably both countries where higher quality is likely to be the norm rather than restricted mainly to the artisan sector as it is here.

In fact, our most popular mainstream brands may not actually contain very much chocolate at all while, by contrast, artisan chocolatiers generally focus on quality and make products with a high percentage of cocoa solids. And some producers, like Shana Wilkie (who worked in Dublin newspapers in another life), go much further in aiming for the highest possible quality.

Shana, a small batch organic chocolate maker now based in Midleton, Co Cork, was the first in Ireland to make ‘bean to bar’ chocolate and her meticulous commitment to quality has earned some high profile awards, including Bord Bia’s Best Organic Confectionery & Baked Goods Award 2012; one, two and three Gold Star winners across the range in the 2013 Great Taste Awards, and a Euro-Toques Food Award in 2015.

Shana’s philosophy is more familiar in the world of tea and coffee than relating to chocolate. Wilkies Chocolate was the first chocolate maker in Ireland to import their own Single Origin Criollo beans from a local co-op in Peru, where Shana knows the farmers by name. And, like many other excellent products, pride is taken in using as few ingredients as possible: “We don't use any emulsifiers or add any flavours. This is because our beans are a rare delicacy and each type in farmed in a specific region, giving them a unique flavour that has been influenced by the climate and soil they were grown in.”

It is also an ethical process: “We care about our environment and the farmers who provide the quality crops we use. It is a priority for us to ethically source the finest organic Criollo Cocoa Beans, ensuring that the farmers receive a fair price for their cocoa. All of our ingredients are organic therefore, no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers are used in their production and the biodiversity that results from this type of farming is encouraged and preserved.”

Wilkies Bean to Bar and Bean to Cup (organic hot chocolate) range is dairy, gluten, soy and nut free, and made with only three natural organic ingredients; cocoa beans, cocoa butter and cane sugar. The superior flavour texture speaks for itself and, according to Shana, “We promote natural ingredients because they contain a wide variety of compounds that your body uses to keep you active and healthy, while refined sugars and cocoa are mostly devoid of these healthy natural ingredients.”

Knowing all this - and there is plenty more to be learned from the workshops Shana often offers (at Ballymaloe Cookery School, for example) - the next step is to try it for yourself and taste the difference: “a chocolate experience like no other.”

While best known for the bars - which are available in mini sizes (14g) as well as standard (65g) - Wilkies also produce cocoa and hot chocolate products, and a small but highly covetable gift selection of dark chocolates (salted caramel; kirsch; praline; coconut; mint; orange; coffee; plain; dark ganache) all available online, as well as from selected specialist outlets.

Wilkies Chocolate Limited
Address: Unit 6, Nordic Enterprise Park, Knockgriffin, Midleton, Co Cork
Web: www.wilkieschocolate.ie
Tel: +353 (0)87 699 6454