Kevin Gould travels all the way to south London to meet chocolate-maker supreme Chantal Coady, and to be
cocooned in the warmth of her sublime handmade truffles.
"I don't agree with all that chocolate-as-an-aphrodisiac stuff." This sentiment would be unremarkable if
uttered by my Auntie Esme, who is in denial about many things, but rather surprises me today, when it
spills from the lips of Chantal Coady, who has done more to make English chocolate sexy than anyone
since Marianne Faithfull.
It must be 15 years since a cocoa-loco friend introduced me to Rococo, Chantal's boutique on Chelsea's
Kings Road. Then, as now, Rococo offered something for all tastes: ridicuously rich truffles that promised
of pleasure and sin; polite violet creams and lavender fondants; bars in arresting flavours, from rose to
pink peppercorn. I loved the warm, funky smell and intense satisfaction from her chocolate, which was
enhanced by beautiful packaging reproduced from an 1850s' French catalogue of chocolate moulds. Chantal
and I became good friends.
Until recently, Chantal and her team of two chocolatiers made most of their confections in the tiny
kitchen of her home, an ex-squat near the Thames in Vauxhall. Business has boomed over the years, so
the workshop has now moved to the leafy suburb of West Norwood. Her new place is on the top floor of
an Art-Deco factory, on an avenue lined with pointy-rooved semis, past a big old boozer that's chasing
the yuppie euro by serving stonebaked pizzas and unpronounceable beers. Sometimes, I muse, I do long
for a proper pint and a pie that contains neither sundried tomatoes nor wilted bloody rocket. Chantal,
it turns out, is of a similar mind.
"Food fashions come and go," she says, as we stroll around the airy lab with its marble work tables.
"It may be fashionable to talk of chocolate as Viagra, but I'm interested in its emotional side. That
never changes." Saying this, she feeds me a fresh truffle rolled in brick-red cocoa that brings me
over all emotional and, for an instant, makes time stand still. "Chocolate is like a really big hug,"
she pronounces. "Something delicious and timeless that cocoons you with warmth. Isn't that what we all
need in our lives?"
Actually, I need some more truffles, and
cast increasingly obvious glances towards the enrobing area, where nuts and fancies are being dipped
into molten cocoa. "We live in a world where everyone's competing all the time," Chantal continues,
ignoring my craven display. "Sometimes, you just need to feel like you've come home so you can curl
up and relax."
Having a successful business and a young family has changed Chantal little over the years. Her hair
is still well cut, auburnish, shortish. Her creamy complexion is flawless; her voice softly assertive.
She grew up, the daughter of a "bog Irish" colonial doctor, in Tehran, Brunei, Addis Ababa and Kuwait,
before being sent to school in Sussex. In 1983, when as a punky ex-art student she opened Rococo, she
only had a love of chocolate and a few weeks' work experience at Harrods to her name. The idea was that
the shop would fund a career as a photographer, although, after 22 years, photography's loss has
proved the chocolate-lover's gain.
"Back then, the 'best' chocolate shops used to terrify you with their manners," she recalls. "So I
made Rococo friendly, not posh." She vowed never to sell a violet cream, but changed her mind within
a week, bullied by "terrifying" Chelsea ladies who would overlook her single-estate, 70 per cent
cocoa bars, and demand 'real' chocolate instead. "I realised that, though it's important to push
boundaries, you also have to respect what is quintessentially English."
Rococo does more than respect tradition. Chantal's chocolates have devoted fans in, er, one of the
capital's biggest houses. They are classy
and comforting, of the moment and timeless. She may not choose to think of them as aphrodisiacs,
but to this lover of English food, they're the quintessential turn-on.
User's Guide
- In her two London shops, Chantal sells a range of 26 bars, in flavours from Orange & Geranium
to Sea Salt (inspired by childhood trips to Cornwall). Among the most popular are her Organic
Cinnamon and Cardamom bars. They are smooth and delicious, and are wrapped in delightful tobacco
wallets.
- A drum of Rococo Provençal Almonds & Caffe Chocolat is a great gift to a friend, and an even
better one to yourself. Inside, cosetted in tissue paper, are two bags: one of toasted sweet almonds
in a coat of mottled, glazed chocolate; the other of a superior type of M&M, whose bittersweet chocolate
surrounds a nib of roasted coffee.
- "Granny recipes" is how Chantal describes her English Selection. It recalls those special chocs
meant for adults but also loved by children. It comprises a beautiful box of flower fondants, as well
as ginger, walnut marzipan and a gin and lemon truffle.