An intoxicating aroma of delectable Belgian chocolate wafts from the home of Hogsback chocolatier Candy Butler, whose dream of owning a whimsical chocolate shop with trays of delicious handcrafted chocolate truffles came true this week when she moved into her new wooden cabin chocolate shop.
Inspired by the film Chocolat in which a woman opens a tempting chocolate shop in a French village just as Lent begins, Butler, 36, has spent the last four years selling her enticing, individually made treats in the idyllic mountain village.
“I watched Chocolat and thought it would be a nice idea for Hogsback,” says Butler, who graduated from Stirling High School and lived in Israel and England before settling in the picturesque Amathole Mountain town.
When she was unable to find a chocolate-making school in South Africa, she turned to the internet where she came across a Canadian interactive course and two months later was a qualified chocolatier.
At first Butler hand-tempered the chocolate by melting it and pouring it onto a granite slab, a leftover from a local who had renovated his kitchen.
“I created shiny chocolate with a good snap and it was all done by hand. Initially I only had one polycarbonate mould and I made chocolates like orange truffles, mint fondant and creamy toffee and sold them at Hogsback’s information centre.”
When she is not concocting new fillings and piping velvety chocolate into moulds, Butler parasails down waterfalls. As the co-owner of Hogsback Adventures, she gives tourists a thrilling experience of her beautiful town.
“Two years ago I opened a little chocolate shop at Hogsback Adventures and it went really well. On busy weekends I would run out of chocolates and so on Mondays I’d have to make new stock.”
At first she sold her chocolates in boxes, but preferred to display them in tantalising rows on open platters allowing chocoholics to pick their own selection, guided by their olfactory and aesthetic senses.
When a satisfied customer from EL called her saying he wanted to invest in her little business, Butler knew she could take her confection-making to a new level.
“East London businessman Vumile Mtyobele and attorney Vuyo Tshangana loved the business concept and the chocolates and so I was able to buy a tempering machine and 12 moulds in four shapes and improve my marketing. Having investors was a dream come true for me.”
Mtyobele said he had tasted Butler’s chocolates while on a family visit to Hogsback.
“After tasting the chocolates I decided they were a world-class product and so I decided to invest in and grow the business. I especially liked her dark chocolates,” said Mtyobele, who was joined by East London attorney Vuyo Tshangana who also invested in The Chocolate Shoppe.
“We plan to send her to Belgium for further training because she is extremely talented,” said Mtyobele.
Now, working from a small home kitchen, Butler, who is endearingly called the “Hogsback Chocolate Lady”, produces 20 delectable centres concealed in glossy dark or velvety milk chocolate. These include flavours like port praline, ginger rum and vanilla, hazelnut ganache, authentic spice chai, black coffee, chilli truffle and coconut bonbon.
She makes her own fillings using up to four litres of cream a week and uses no preservatives.
“They are freshly made every day and do not sit on the shelf. I try not to use artificial flavouring and use as many natural flavours as possible, like blueberries grown by local farmers.
“The centres are either piped into a mould or I pour the mixture onto a tray, cut it into blocks and enrobe them into the chocolate.
Although she imports high quality Belgian chocolate, Butler is also considering making her own chocolate as a sideline.
“I would make couverture chocolate which has a high percentage of cocoa butter and is of a high quality with no granules.”
Of course, in order to ensure her chocolates are uniformly delicious there is a lot of tasting going on.
“I taste everything,” she laughs. “Fortunately I like dark chocolate which has a lot less sugar so I don’t ever eat copious amounts, but if I eat too much I just skip lunch.”
Her chocolate-scented shop has moved around the charming mountain village. After the adventure business, she sold her chocolates from a craft shop and then once again from the info centre, but the dream has always been to have a little shop devoted to her bonbons.
“I asked one of the locals who owns a piece of land along the main road if I could clear some bush and put up a chocolate shop and he said yes. Having lived in the UK I loved the quaintness of the chocolate shops there.”
Once boyfriend Mark Schenk, who conveniently co-owns a sawmill, had bulldozed the land, a small wooden kit house called a “Pozzie” was built and The Chocolate Shoppe officially opened on Thursday.
“I am going for a vintage chocolate shop look with an old koskas for display, antique scales and chocolates beneath glass cloches.
“I also want to have the smell of hot chocolate wafting onto the main road on cold days and serve it on the little deck.”
Her perfectly formed little treats are given as wedding favours and may also find their way onto B&B and hotel pillows if all goes well. And, while the idea is to expand and open a Chocolate Shoppe in East London, for now Butler is looking for outlets in the city and surrounds to stock her mouthwatering wares.
“I enjoy being in my little kitchen with music playing and popping beautiful chocolates out of moulds. And it’s lovely creating new flavours.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Delightful serving by Butler
Inspired by the film Chocolat in which a woman opens a tempting chocolate shop in a French village just as Lent begins, Butler, 36, has spent the last four years selling her enticing, individually made treats in the idyllic mountain village.
“I watched Chocolat and thought it would be a nice idea for Hogsback,” says Butler, who graduated from Stirling High School and lived in Israel and England before settling in the picturesque Amathole Mountain town.
When she was unable to find a chocolate-making school in South Africa, she turned to the internet where she came across a Canadian interactive course and two months later was a qualified chocolatier.
At first Butler hand-tempered the chocolate by melting it and pouring it onto a granite slab, a leftover from a local who had renovated his kitchen.
“I created shiny chocolate with a good snap and it was all done by hand. Initially I only had one polycarbonate mould and I made chocolates like orange truffles, mint fondant and creamy toffee and sold them at Hogsback’s information centre.”
When she is not concocting new fillings and piping velvety chocolate into moulds, Butler parasails down waterfalls. As the co-owner of Hogsback Adventures, she gives tourists a thrilling experience of her beautiful town.
“Two years ago I opened a little chocolate shop at Hogsback Adventures and it went really well. On busy weekends I would run out of chocolates and so on Mondays I’d have to make new stock.”
At first she sold her chocolates in boxes, but preferred to display them in tantalising rows on open platters allowing chocoholics to pick their own selection, guided by their olfactory and aesthetic senses.
When a satisfied customer from EL called her saying he wanted to invest in her little business, Butler knew she could take her confection-making to a new level.
“East London businessman Vumile Mtyobele and attorney Vuyo Tshangana loved the business concept and the chocolates and so I was able to buy a tempering machine and 12 moulds in four shapes and improve my marketing. Having investors was a dream come true for me.”
Mtyobele said he had tasted Butler’s chocolates while on a family visit to Hogsback.
“After tasting the chocolates I decided they were a world-class product and so I decided to invest in and grow the business. I especially liked her dark chocolates,” said Mtyobele, who was joined by East London attorney Vuyo Tshangana who also invested in The Chocolate Shoppe.
“We plan to send her to Belgium for further training because she is extremely talented,” said Mtyobele.
Now, working from a small home kitchen, Butler, who is endearingly called the “Hogsback Chocolate Lady”, produces 20 delectable centres concealed in glossy dark or velvety milk chocolate. These include flavours like port praline, ginger rum and vanilla, hazelnut ganache, authentic spice chai, black coffee, chilli truffle and coconut bonbon.
She makes her own fillings using up to four litres of cream a week and uses no preservatives.
“They are freshly made every day and do not sit on the shelf. I try not to use artificial flavouring and use as many natural flavours as possible, like blueberries grown by local farmers.
“The centres are either piped into a mould or I pour the mixture onto a tray, cut it into blocks and enrobe them into the chocolate.
Although she imports high quality Belgian chocolate, Butler is also considering making her own chocolate as a sideline.
“I would make couverture chocolate which has a high percentage of cocoa butter and is of a high quality with no granules.”
Of course, in order to ensure her chocolates are uniformly delicious there is a lot of tasting going on.
“I taste everything,” she laughs. “Fortunately I like dark chocolate which has a lot less sugar so I don’t ever eat copious amounts, but if I eat too much I just skip lunch.”
Her chocolate-scented shop has moved around the charming mountain village. After the adventure business, she sold her chocolates from a craft shop and then once again from the info centre, but the dream has always been to have a little shop devoted to her bonbons.
“I asked one of the locals who owns a piece of land along the main road if I could clear some bush and put up a chocolate shop and he said yes. Having lived in the UK I loved the quaintness of the chocolate shops there.”
Once boyfriend Mark Schenk, who conveniently co-owns a sawmill, had bulldozed the land, a small wooden kit house called a “Pozzie” was built and The Chocolate Shoppe officially opened on Thursday.
“I am going for a vintage chocolate shop look with an old koskas for display, antique scales and chocolates beneath glass cloches.
“I also want to have the smell of hot chocolate wafting onto the main road on cold days and serve it on the little deck.”
Her perfectly formed little treats are given as wedding favours and may also find their way onto B&B and hotel pillows if all goes well. And, while the idea is to expand and open a Chocolate Shoppe in East London, for now Butler is looking for outlets in the city and surrounds to stock her mouthwatering wares.
“I enjoy being in my little kitchen with music playing and popping beautiful chocolates out of moulds. And it’s lovely creating new flavours.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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