Our Story

Our Story

By Linda Barrie, Founder and Chief Taster

There’s something soul-satisfying about chocolate – like a miniature holiday for your senses.

The Choc Affair story began in 2006 when I realised that my daughters had an intolerance to milk – a devastating discovery for children who love chocolate. As there were few alternatives available back then, I decided to have a go myself and with a little time and a whole lot of soy milk I created a hot chocolate they loved. While my first little customers were pretty devoted, they also gave me the idea for a business making handmade chocolate. The next step was a dark chocolate stirrer that melted in warm milk to create an instant chocolatey drink, something we still make today. As demand grew, (and not just at home) and with my house now permanently smelling of molten chocolate, I gave up my day job to become a full-time chocolatier.

As family members were always being drafted in to help, stir, drive and taste, most of them eventually joined the company and after first converting our garage, we eventually rented an old joinery as our first chocolate HQ. With a lot of drive and a great team, the business really started growing and before long we’d moved into our current home in Hazel Court, allowing us to expand with ease. 

As a business, at our core was the desire to do good by the world and create confectionery that came with a clear conscience and so began our relationship with our chocolate supplier – a family-owned company from Colombia. All our cocoa is sustainably and responsibly grown, and we chose to pay a 5% premium for every kilo we buy, to be reinvested into local projects and initiatives for the cocoa growing communities, supporting the small farms and cooperatives our cocoa is sourced from.

As a small British company, we are incredibly proud of our heritage and ensure we are playing our part for our economy, through sourcing all of our additional ingredients and packaging from other UK based businesses. 

So, 20 years on we’re still making delicious chocolate that impacts positively on our world, and we still love doing it. What more could we ask for!

Choc Affair Timeline

To be continued