Secret Garden Confectionery is a name that evokes magical childlike feelings of adventure, mischief and fun. Three key things when we adults feel when we delve into a guilty pleasure of eating chocolates

With so many low quality chocolates trollop on the market, you always do wonder if the chocolate you are eating is just some rolled out mass produced product created strictly for profits (as in cheap ingredients!) or if it was lovingly crafted to taste great and full of high quality ingredients. If you’ve been reading this blog enough, you will know that I’m all for great quality ingredients and foods made with 100% love!

I got to briefly sit down with Artisan Chocolatier, Belinda, from Secret Garden Confectionery (soon to be relaunched as Bee’s of London) to find out a little more about her brand and her delicious chocolates….

 

The name Secret Garden Confectionery sounds a bit Narnia-esque. How did the name come about?

Having recently relaunched the brand with a renaming to ‘Bee’s of London’ we have a fresh new look. ‘Bee’ is a nickname for Belinda so I wanted to put a personal twist on the brand.

With other luxury chocolate brands already available, what sets apart yours from the rest of these brands?

Being a self-taught chocolatier means I have developed my own unique style. Rather than following recipes by the book, I am constantly creating my own flavour ideas and techniques. When you purchase from Bee’s you know that each and every chocolate is handmade fresh, with love and with real ingredients. It’s not been on a shelf for 6 months full of preservatives which compromise on flavour.

Name your top 3 chocolate guilty pleasures.

Duffy’s Venezuela Ocumare 55% Milk Chocolate is glorious.

Batch Bakery London‘s S’more brownie is a divine guilty pleasure.

And of course our signature chocolate is in the top three! The Sea Salt Caramel Truffle is a best seller and is on course for Great Taste Award judging in June 2014.

For those people trying to get away from rubbish quality chocolates, what sort of things should they look out for?

Firstly it’s important to know who’s made the chocolates- not a mass produced product from a factory line. Small artisan producers have a real passion for their creations.

I would also check the ingredients too, if the label is the length of an Elizabethan novel then steer clear! A high quality dark chocolate should only have four or five ingredients.
Many chocolatiers use pre-mixed fondants and pralines which are fully loaded with stabilisers and preservatives to extend the shelf life- fresh chocolates are best eaten within two weeks.

Another pointer for chocolate bars is the cocoa content- the higher the better! A good milk chocolate should be above 36% and dark chocolate above 70%. Ask the producer about it’s origin and traceability too.

Where can the people of London and those around the world taste/sample your delicious chocolates?

You can currently find Secret Garden Confectionery / Bee’s of London at London’s One New Change food market every Friday and Saturday from midday.

One New Change
1 New Change
London EC4M 9AF

Nearest Train Station: St Paul’s.

Twitter: @BeesOfLondon