The Highland Chocolatier

Chocolate is one of the world’s favourite treats. Whether it’s birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries or of course Valentine’s Day - which is coming up next week - you can’t go wrong with the gift of some delicious, sweet chocolate.

While many chocoholics are used to just grabbing some Cadbury’s from the supermarket to keep them satisfied, there’s nothing quite like spoiling yourself and going for something a little bit more special. Luckily for us, up in Highland Perthshire in the small village of Grandtully near Aberfeldy, there are chocolates produced that are recognised as being among the best in the world – and the man who created them has the awards to prove it.

Iain Burnett – the Highland Chocolatier – is a man who needs no introduction in the chocolate world. He trained under master chocolatiers of the Belgian, Swiss and French schools, and along with his team he's provided gourmet chocolate treats to most of the UK’s Michelin star chefs, including Gordon Ramsay, Andrew Fairlie and Albert Roux. His award-winning chocolates can be found at Gleneagles Hotel, many of the country’s finest distilleries, and previously his delicious truffles were enjoyed by those flying British Airways first-class around the world.

GALLERY

Everything that comes out of Iain’s kitchen is world-class, and precisely crafted by his team of master chocolatiers. The technique and delicacy of his work is something he says he gained from his mother, and also from his studies at university which believe it or not had nothing to do with chocolate or indeed catering!

“I always grew up around the kitchen,” Iain told me as we sat down in the stunning Chocolate Lounge, “my dad was a sailor and a cook. He was really passionate about using local produce together with more exotic ingredients and I guess you could say that rubbed off on me. He was really passionate about using local produce together with more exotic ingredients and I guess you could say that rubbed off on me.

“However it’s from my mum that I get the little details and the precision that’s required in my line of work. I went off to university and studied product design engineering which I think has also helped me to create the chocolates and come up with the unique ideas that are so popular with our customers!”

Popular with the customers yes, but also recognised internationally as being up there with the very best. Iain’s chocolates are steeped in prestigious foodie awards, including winning gold at the 2015 International Chocolate Awards for his famous Dark Velvet Truffle. In fact the full range of his chocolates won the 2014 Scotland Food and Drink Product of the Year, and many of his other individual creations have won World Golds and Silvers in the International Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards.

So, what is it that makes the chocolates so special then? Well, Iain explained just some of the details that make his creations so special, while at the same time he very kindly treated me to some of his exceptional Dark Velvet Truffles.

“We use cocoa from the forests of Sao Tome in Africa. There’s nothing else quite like it and it’s very unique in its flavour which is why we use it. The distinctive flavour in our chocolate is down to the Sao Tome cocoa but also the locally sourced cream which comes from a herd of Fresian cows in Crieff.

“When I first set about making the Velvet Truffle, which is the most famous of our range, I wanted to create a truffle with no additives, none of the sorbitol, glucose, extra fats, oils and preservatives that you get in chocolate you buy from a supermarket. All of our range is just pure gourmet chocolate with either fresh dairy or infused with fruits and spices.

“There’s not a lot of sugar in it yet it’s actually sweeter than the chocolate that people are more used to buying – that’s natural sweetness from the cocoa, and I don’t create my chocolates like this just because it’s healthier, I do it because it tastes much, much better!

“One of the other major things that I think sets our Velvet Truffle apart from others is the fact that it’s not enrobed with an outer chocolate shell. We simply dust the truffle lightly with cocoa powder instead and it creates this wonderful texture in your mouth when you eat the chocolate. It’s like it just melts and disappears and that’s because it’s based on cocoa butter. You’ll be able to try for yourself and see what you think!”

And try it I did. I can vouch for everything that Iain says, I’d never tasted anything like it before and given the fact I bought myself two packets from his chocolate shop before leaving Grandtully, I think it’s safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed his award-winning Dark Velvet Truffles!

It took Iain three years to perfect his recipe and it takes at least two days to make each individual chocolate – it’s a time consuming process but one that is key in making sure each one is completed to perfection.

With business booming and more and more chefs, hotels, distilleries and other corporate clients coming to Iain and his team for their chocolates, how does he cope with the demand? Well, he made a business decision a couple of years ago to invest in people rather than machinery, and he thinks that he made the right call. It takes about three years to fully train our chocolatiers and the guys in the kitchen have all been with me for over five years now.

“We could’ve gone down the route of big fancy machines,” he told me as we popped our head into the kitchen, “we could have changed the production process to one where we push buttons and the quality would have dropped but we would be able to produce many more chocolates.

“The alternative was to increase our kitchen staff so that’s what we did – we employed more chocolatiers to keep the quality high but make sure the precision and attention to detail that goes in to each and every chocolate remained.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky to have excellent members of staff who have been with me for a number of years. In the catering and foodie industry, staff turnover is normally very high but that isn’t the case here and it wouldn’t be possible either.

“With what we do, it takes about three years to fully train our chocolatiers and the guys in the kitchen have all been with me for over five years now – my brother works in there too and he’s been with us for ten years!”

The Chocolate Lounge on the premises has recently undergone a revamp, with Iain encouraging his clients to come for tasting sessions to really get to know his range. The audio guided tasting sessions encourage you to really get a sense of the different flavours and infusions that are used in his chocolates, from lime and chilli to mango and passionfruit.

“The lounge was created to allow our guests to sample our range of chocolates and to enjoy our award-winning hot velvet ganache – which is a luxurious hot chocolate and is extremely popular with our customers. The hot velvet ganache will now also be available in our Chocolate Bar located within the shop.

“We sell other hot drinks and snacks but our main focus here is everything chocolate. We want our customers to take the audio guided tasting sessions and really get to know our range and the flavours that go into each and every chocolate. We want people to engage in our chocolate tastings in the same way they go to wine tasting, although you won’t need to spit the chocolates out!”

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Chocolate Tour and Velvet Truffle Tastings at Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier are priced at £15. Booking is essential for larger groups. To book, call 01887 840775 or email iainburnett@highlandchocolatier.com.

For more information, visit the Highland Chocolatier website or follow the Facebook page here.

If you're looking for a Valentine's Gift for that special someone, then view the Highland Chocolatier's Valentine's Day range here.