A pair of Welsh pastry chefs with a keen eye for confectionery have started their own operation, Epicurean Chocolatiers, built on hand-crafted chocolate in a bid to shake-up the artisan market, reports Neill Barston.

Husband and wife team Robin and Rosie Evans have expressed high hopes for their venture that they have been building up over the past few months, and have reported strong interest in their ranges. 

The couple’s decision to start-up in business at the end of last year is particularly notable at a period where there have been comparatively few new ventures opening within the UK confectionery sector, against a challenging wider economic backdrop for the region. 

Robin, 26, hails from Cheshire and his wife Rosie, 20, first met working at a country house hotel in Mid Wales, where they hatched their plan to build a distinctive confectionery brand that they are now aiming to roll-out across an expanded area.

Initially, the couple tested their series’ popularity at market fayres across their home nation, developing their recipes in their North Wales kitchen, using a mix of local and international ingredients including Halen Mon Welsh sea salt, In The Welsh Wind whisky, and local sparkling wine and honey.

Notably, in addition to creating chocolates and pralines, the creative pair have also branched out into producing  jams, marmalades and spreads, as well as honeycomb.

For his part, Robin has worked as a pastry chef for ten years at establishments including the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, the Ritz, Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair and for Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, one of London’s finest three-Michelin-star restaurants.

As they explained, they spent ten months developing their first collection product range and packaging before launching the brand.

Robin, who began his career in the industry early at the age of 15, working for the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, enthused that it was gaining a strong educational start that would spur him on to start his own venture.

He said: “I had an inspirational teacher at Neston High School who encouraged me to follow my passion and become a pastry chef.

“I went for a trial in the kitchens of the Grosvenor Hotel where they asked me to garnish the afternoon tea pastries and it went so well that Simon Radley, the executive chef and director of catering at the time, gave me a job.

“I worked there at weekends while I was still at school and then went in full time on an apprentice programme, before moving to London to continue my career.

“One of the highlights of working in such amazing hotels and restaurants is seeing the quality of the ingredients used by the chefs who work there. It’s one of the reasons why Rosie and I invest in the best raw ingredients we can find for our own brand, such as Tahitian vanilla, a premium orchid variety native to French Polynesia known for its sweet, floral, and fruity aroma. Unlike traditional Madagascar vanilla, it carries distinct notes of cherry, anise and prune, which, as pastry chefs, we really love.

“We work with amazing chocolate, stunning Welsh salt and the most beautiful dairy ingredients too.

“Growing up, I always loved baking – never cooking – at home which is rather funny because I don’t have a sweet tooth at all,” he says of the business, which takes its name from a sense of enjoyment of luxury, which fits the character of their carefully-crafted confectionery. 

Meanwhile, Rosie, who began her career as an apprentice for a local restaurant with rooms, married Robin at Chester Town Hall in May last year. They have a baby son, Arthur.

She said: “During Lockdown I started baking and cooking a lot. I was keen to leave school and do a job I loved. The artistry of chocolate is something that I really enjoy and Robin is brilliant at flavours, so together we make a good team.”

Significantly, the couple started making their chocolates at their kitchen table in Bala but have recently expanded and taken on a commercial unit nearby as the business grows. In addition, they are also investing in new equipment to expand their capacity to cope with the growth of the business.

Rosie added: “I’m really proud of Epicurean Chocolatiers and the recipes and flavours we have developed in our first collection.

“Our milk and white chocolates are our bestsellers and people also love our raspberry flavoured chocolates. The 5-star Fanny Talbot Hotel in Barmouth loves them so much that they order boxes of them every month for their guests.

“We’re also supplying the Penmaenuchaf Hotel, a luxury country house hotel situated in the foothills of Cadair Idris, and a number of pubs in Lancashire.”

The couple, who have self-funded the business, have ambitious plans to grow the business, which they believed had strong premium retail potential within the region.

Robin said: “We would love to see Epicurean Chocolatiers on sale in a big high-end department store like Fortnum & Mason or Liberty London and in restaurants and hotels across the UK while also continuing to grow our direct to consumer website.

“We get lots of returning customers who love what we’re doing and the quality of the ingredients we use. It’s very exciting to be working with Rosie and creating something so special.”