Support Your Local Chocolatiers

With Mothers day and Easter Sunday on the horizon, I thought now would be the perfect time to showcase some of my favourite local chocolatiers. If you love chocolate as much as I do then you may already be familiar with some of these companies. If not, then here is a delectable assortment of amazing North East based chocolatiers for you to feast your eyes (and tummies!) on.

1. La Chocolatrice

Founded by Zoe in November 2019, La Chocolatrice is a very recent business based in the North East, making and selling a beautiful range of delicious handmade chocolates. They currently have a chocolate shop selling products in Coxhoe and a chocolate studio in Newcastle city centre where you can get hands-on tasting chocolate and making your own fresh truffles.

Sustainability is important to La Chocolatrice which is another reason I love this business. The packaging they use to pack their chocolate bars is biodegradable and the labels they use are also recyclable.

My current favourite product at La Chocolatrice is their Easter bunny chocolate bar range featuring The Bouncy Bunny, The Crumby Bunny, The Gooey Bunny, The Arsty Bunny and The Nutty Bunny. Each bar is decorated with different toppings, but each bar features a deliciously cute chocolate rabbit!

@la.chocolatrice on Instagram

https://www.lachocolatrice.co.uk/

2. The Chocolate Smiths

Founded by the absolute superwoman that is Steffi, The Chocolate Smiths is a booming chocolate business taking over the North East and the country. After Joe Wicks mentioned the business on social media, sales are at an all-time record, with 10,000 bars selling out in a whopping 90 seconds. The Chocolate Smiths have recently had to upgrade to an even bigger unit for the third time in order to cope with demand, as well as adding five members of staff to their small team of chocolatiers to handmake and hand-wrap all of the chocolate bars.

Innovative Willy Wonka style packaging wraps these incredibly creative and exciting chocolate bars. With flavours like banoffee bread, carrot cake, and caramel apple pie, it’s clear to see why The Chocolate Smiths are such a hit.

Their next re-stock of 18,000 bars will drop on the 18th of March at 8pm – but you’ll have to be lightning speed to get your hands on one!

@thechocolatesmiths on Instagram

https://www.thechocolatesmiths.com/

3. Good Tempered Chocolate Co.

Another chocolatier called Zoe! Zoe is the creative behind The Good Tempered Chocolate Company, which is a small batch chocolatier, creating feel-good flavours in North Shields. Their chocolate bars are nowhere near the slim side, you get a THICK slab of chocolate studded with delicious toppings from these batches.

They are committed to reducing their impact on the environment, so all packaging is biodegradable and postage boxes are recyclable. Focused on ethics, they use chocolate with higher percentages of cocoa butter and cocoa using beans from West Africa. It has been sourced from farmers using the Cocoa Horizons project which improves the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable farming, and community development.

Stockists include Something Good Co on Jesmond Road, Merchant No1 in Monkseaton, Kith and Kin Whitley Bay, and Baristocracy in North Shields.

Their Easter collection is being released on Saturday 13th March at 7pm!

@goodtemperedchocolateco on Instagram

https://goodtemperedchocolateco.com/

4. North Chocolates

Award winning handmade Artisan chocolatier from Newcastle, North Chocolates specialise in seasonal, small batch gourmet chocolate bars using ethically sourced cocoa and cocoa butter.

Unusual flavours in their standard range include honey pistachio, lime and sea salt, parma violet and liquorice and blackcurrant. They also offer an ‘icon and innovation box’ celebrating North East heritage. The packaging on these bars beautifully showcases illustrations from local artist Suzanne Homer, depicting local sceneries such as Grey’s Monument, the Tyne bridge, and Durham Cathedral so they would make excellent gifts for someone visiting the region, or a North East fanatic.

Find them stocked in Ashburton village shop, Fenwick’s food hall, French Oven Grainger market, Gateshead Library gift shop, Handpicked at the Metrocentre, 109 Heaton Park Road general store, and The Staiths Café.

@northchocolates on Instagram

https://www.northchocolates.co.uk/

5. Gareth James Tynemouth

Gareth James is an independent chocolatier based in Tynemouth. All the products are freshly made on site in the studio and ooze luxury. Selling a range of products, from individual chocolates, chocolate bars, and hot chocolate, there is something for everyone at Gareth James. During the summer months, you can even indulge in a homemade ice-cream!

Also serving as a café, this corner hotspot in Tynemouth is perfect for relaxing with a coffee and cake, whilst people-watching the high street of this gorgeously picturesque coastal town.

@garethjameschocolatier

https://www.garethjameschocolatier.co.uk/