Hi my name is Kira, I have worked and trained as chocolatier over many years. I have always loved chocolate but while I was at college I really fell in love with working with it. I then went on to work for a small local chocolate company in Aberdeen for a few years and did lots of different training along with workshops, I then went on to work at a few different places within catering in all types of establishments along with training within the catering industry, I loved it but always missed working with the chocolate as that's where my passion lye's and will always remain. So after a few years researching and developing products and packaging I decided start up Chocolat Passions, with great help from the PYSBT. Since then I haven't looked back and I am loving developing new flavours and produce that bring pleasure to others, the feedback has been amazing. We supply shops, hotels and do the county and farmers markets from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
I try my hardest to source the best quality and taste along with a high cocoa content. Our Plain Chocolate contains a min of 70% cocoa solids and our Milk Chocolate contains a min of 38% cocoa solids. I also hand-make all the little tags and bows that go on to the products.
I believe very much in natural produce as I feel that it can't be good for us to pump our bodies full of artificial chemicals, like some preservatives and colourings, so as far as possible I use all natural ingredients and where they are impossible to get then I use nature identical produce. For preserving I use Etilfruito which is a natural fruit alcohol.
I am a great lover of nature and wildlife too, so where I can I use biodegradable, however sadly this is not always possible. I am always on the look out for new biodegradable packaging so that I can produce what I love while caring for what I love.
(Aberdeen County Fare)
This of course comes at a price, however the price our bodies, the planet and wildlife would pay in the long run would be far greater, so I'm happy to pay more as I feel its essential.
Thank you for taking the time to look through the Chocolat Passions website and hope that you like it, below is a little explanation on the process I use for making the chocolate products.
We also provide workshops for companies and schools that can be done in their own choice of establishment, this is offered in and around Aberdeen. Just contact us for any details.
Below is just some info on the process I use for making the Truffles.
Process of Truffle Making
Just to explain a little about the process of Truffles that I produce.
Firstly we have a gnache made with fresh ingredients, which the flavour is added to, I use extracts and oils where possible, then a natural fruit alcohol is added to give it a shelf life.
The chocolate shells are then filled and left to set for
24hours.
They are then sealed, and left for a further 24 hours to prevent splitting in the next stage.
This is now when they are enrobed in chocolate that has
been tempered only to perfection, tempering is a heating and cooling process which binds crystals together to give the chocolate strength, snap, shine, and prevents white bloom occurring. Blooming of chocolate is harmless to eat, but it just doesn't look appetizing at all.
They are then left to dry for a further 24 hours to prevent sweating when packaged.
They are then packaged, and decorated with hand-made tags on the produce just to give some info on the product and to let you know what flavour is in each package.
Or Table Chocolates
Or Chocolate Displays
Or do it yourself at a chocolate class/workshop