Chocolaterie!!

Here's where I got to see how chocolate is made by hand...

Chocolate Heaven

Entering Paul A. Young is like stepping into another world: a world that knows only chocolate. Could anything be more tempting? Tucked away on Camden Passage - an idyllic location for an independent, traditional-styled shop such as this - Paul A. Young has been in business for five years. Prior to that, the Mr Paul A. Young himself was Head Pâtissiere for Marco Pierre White, before moving on to work for retailers Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer, developing and managing products for the brand. In this way, he was able to earn his chef stripes before choosing to specialise in chocolate. In fact, his decision to do so came after years of attending food trade fairs at which there was always a demand for chocolate.


Paul investigated, and found to his surprise that there was nowhere in London that supplied it freshly made. As a pastry chef, Paul had not, at that point, worked extensively with chocolate - but his skills enabled him to begin experimenting and honing chocolate-based recipes. Before long he was commissioned by leading chocolaterie Rococo to develop and supply new treats - and in 2006 he was invited to be an honorary member of the Academy of Chocolate.


Strongly influenced by traditional Parisian patisseries that bake on-site daily, Paul is hugely passionate about his chosen career path. “There was nowhere you could find fresh chocolate, hand-made on the premises!” he remarks, emphatically. “And I mean fresh without glucose, sorbitol or any preservatives whatsoever.” He and his business partner took a gamble investing in a product with a comparatively short shelf life. Their faith and perseverance have, however, paid off, and their shop is now the only chocolaterie in London that makes truly fresh chocolate, completely by hand and without the use of machines or automation. Paul thinks that the shop's location has been key to its success.


“Islington is great for us," he says. "Our customers love that we take an artisan approach; they enjoy coming in on a daily basis to try samples, buy a brownie or a hot chocolate and have a chat.” As a result of such support, within just 18 months of opening the doors to the Camden Passage shop, Paul A. Young were launching another at Royal Exchange in the City. Currently, their kitchen is operating at full production capacity and the company has 110 tantalising products available to fans of the sweet stuff. Success, however, has not bred complacency, and Paul’s purist sensibilities extend right to the Islington shop’s interior design, which steers clear of the ‘shop-fit’ look for a rather more antiquated scheme, reflective of its location. He points out to me the reclaimed French dressers that now serve, rather splendidly, as chocolate display counters. It's a scene from a chocolate-lover's fantasy. Paul talks me through the chocolaterie’s seasonal activities: Valentine’s Day tends always to involve red and pink colouring, rose and heart moulds and champagne flavours. Mother’s Day engenders more floral fare, while Easter is all about bunnies and eggs - while Christmas gives rise to the most variation: an interesting mix of traditional ingredients and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cranberry), classic flavours and more contemporary tastes. The business is as 'olde worlde' as it gets, and in the very best possible sense. For one thing, waste is kept to a bare minimum, and chocolate is never thrown away. If a product proves to be too daring, it’s simply offered at discount price or as a taster. Only Billingtons muscovado sugar is used, at Paul’s insistence, along with the finest natural ingredients. “I source French chocolate," Paul says. "I don’t like other, more fatty varieties with a higher cocoa butter content – it’s more expensive, but we seek to make the most fantastic chocolate possible.”



Further evidence of Paul’s dedication to his product can be found in the kitchen, the beating heart of chocolaterie, where we head next. Two gleaming marble slabs act as canvases for the resident chefs’ creations. It takes months to learn the art of tempering – at which Paul is obviously a dab hand, demonstrating the process for me with deft precision. “Chocolate begins to set at 27 degrees,” he tells me, “so there is a level of molecular accuracy needed here: it’s like tempering steel, mixing and cooling with a spreading action.” He conducts a taste test for me, to show what a difference the varying percentages of cocoa and blends can make, all the while plying me with truffles and sea-salted caramel pecan brownie (it does the trick - I soon feel like I’m a golden ticket holder wandering around Willy Wonka’s magical factory). I also try 100% cocoa chocolate (liqueur, as it's called in the business), and am slightly relieved to know that my tasting education stops there - if only because the delicious richness of the chocolate means you’re unlikely to scoff a boxful in one go – two or three chocs supply adequate flavour to see you through to your next mealtime. The shop will soon have a whole host of exciting Easter options available in milk, white and dark chocolate. The labour-intensive ‘egg work’ will begin in earnest once Mother’s Day is out of the way. My personal favourite will surely be the sea-salted caramel hen’s egg (complete with a porcelain egg-cup and spoon): my inner child is going to have a field day with that one. But if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, there will also be chocolate laced with gold leaf and gold pigment bunnies.



As my afternoon of chocolate came to an end, I was a little saddened. It was as if I had experienced some kind of return to innocence, and now I had to leave it behind once more. I resolved to return, if not on a frequent basis, then with some degree of regularity. This is a place I want to factor into my errands. In line with wanting to buy fresh food from local grocers and delicatessens as often as is physically and economically possible, I can see Paul A. Young becoming my new 'pop-in' place when there are gifts to buy, a special occasion to cater for or if I simply deserve a treat after a hard day at the office. Paul loves seeing regular customers come in, from kids who save up their pocket money to splash out on a few truffles to businessmen buying box upon box at Valentine’s Day. His staunch dedication to sourcing the finest ingredients, his attention to training his staff in age-old techniques and his attention to detail in making artisanal chocolate means Paul A. Young has created a shop possessed of a charm rarely seen in the modern age. It's a place where, quite literally, dreams are made. Long may it continue.