He is originally from York and knows its history well, but for those who stop in the city, nationalgeographic. com recommends a stop at York Chocolate Story (in the centre) to observe its rich pastry heritage.
National Geographic mentions York Cocoa House, which produces small, sustainable, high-quality chocolate at its café and workshop in Castlegate.
The next evolution for us is to have an information center that is completely open and available, where other people can come and find out about chocolates and cocoa.
“I didn’t realize that we had been around for 12 years, and I didn’t realize that when we opened the factory, I was ripping the rug out from under our feet and running around with blankets, originally buying it in Belgium. So when Covid hit, we didn’t feel comfortable, we were still doing things, and we had to face demanding situations and find solutions.
Sophie said she made the decision to close the café part of the business, which is located on a separate premises on the other side of town, and run the café from the Castlegate workshop, overlooking the city’s historic medieval walls.
“Our main goal has been to celebrate York. Es a position that I love, it’s a very special position. It’s a position notoriously steeped in heritage and histories that have animated the city. The next evolution for us is to become a completely open city. and an information centre is available, where other people can come and find out about chocolates and cocoa.
“It’s not about large-scale manufacturing. It’s about making sure that we can share what we’ve learned, and if other people can adopt some of the classes that we’ve experienced and learn from them, then great.
“And if that means we eat more cocoa and more sustainable cocoa and release the maximum valuable elements of cocoa, like medicine, for example, then surely we’re on the right track. I tasted some phenomenal cocoa. . . that tastes like rose, and cocoa that tastes like peaches and flavors that you think you’d like to know more about how you get it. “
York Cocoa House basically uses cocoa from South America, known for its premium taste and more sustainable farming processes.
“I’ve noticed that some clever examples of sustainability have been developed in coffee, and just before the pandemic, I was in Colombia on a very attractive industrial project with the British Embassy and we were looking into the transparency of coffee and cocoa as well as the data. It’s available now,” he says.
“Some things have come a long way, but we’re also talking about global diversity and other communities with other systems and structures. And so, I was thinking about how those things work. If we’re talking about blockchain, are we talking about a global currency?This, in turn, raises questions about who owns and directs the knowledge capture modules.
York is a wealthy city, but it has not escaped the recession caused by the pandemic and the fighting in Ukraine, as well as the fallout from Britain’s exit from the European Union. As in many major streets across the country, there are empty premises, especially affecting the hospitality and pub sector.
York Cocoa House has managed to weather the typhoon so far, says Sophie: “But there have been a lot of other demanding situations over the last few years for everyone in the industry. And unfortunately, I had two amazing providers who lived because of Covid, in Peru and Colombia.
Now that the retail sector is thriving again, York Cocoa House now looks after the farms and Sophie says she has worked with the 20 Degrees portfolio, helping them expand other flavour profiles.
Sophie was also interested in cocoa farming in Cameroon. “There are so many rainy conditions there. It has gained notoriety due to excessive humidity and often a smoke-filled side. And that’s why this particular organization has done a great job; They came here. He spoke to me during lockdown and said: we need to build a chocolate logo here in the UK and Europe. So the fact that we can literally direct that source and the chain of origin to places where they can really have a genuine effect on the strengthening has allowed our adventure and our narrative to begin to literally come full circle.