#Chocollaboration Ep1: Northumberland Honey

If you'd peeped through the chocolate factory doors on an evening in late April, you'd have discovered that this first ever chocolate collaboration evening was not only a pairing of chocolate and honey, but a mix of creativity, fun and conversation. It's not something We've ever done before, so I thought I'd share it with you...

It was a gathering of curious and enquiring guests. By the end of the evening, it felt like we were all friends, wanting to share in the delights of each other's recipe creation and chocolate making.

I demonstrated some key techniques. Ganaches in dark, milk and white chocolate to start, and then piping onto textured sheets, dry brushing, filling moulds, and painting with cocoa butter. We tested and tasted, getting familiar with the flavours of the Wildflower and Heather Honey.

One table was full of other ingredients to pair with the Honey, and it was exciting to hear everyone catch inspiration,[or work through inspiration-bloc!], to create something wonderful and unique.

Thank you to each of you for catching some of my vision, and for running with it! Ruth Peyton, Laura Middleton, Chloe McGuirk, Barney Rookwood, Bridget Hamilton, Aiden Brierley... and more.

Attendees at Davenports Chocollaboration workshop get tips from Jane Williams

Creative Collaborations

Here are just some of the #Chocollaboration recipes that were created on the night:

• Bridget created a Dark Chocolate Ganache with Salted Pretzel and Wildflower Honey, and another Dark Chocolate Ganache with Lemon, Shortbread and Wildflower Honey
• Barney, Aidan & Melissa concocted a Wildflower Honey Ganache with a delicate Apple & Cinnamon Twist, and chose to pair the headier Heather Honey with Cardamom & Orange.
• Susan's choices involved pairing the Northumbrian Honey with Milk chocolate and Orange, and her second recipe included adding subtle floral notes of jasmine to a Heather Honey Ganache.

I'll leave you with Chloe McGuirk's comment on the evening:

I really loved the creative element of the workshop. There were so many ingredients and textures to choose from and I really enjoyed the opportunity to let my imagination run wild. The end results were so good that I almost convinced myself I could be a professional chocolatier!

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