Newark chocolatier who set up kitchen weeks before covid lockdown looks forward to sales event at Nottinghamshire County Show
A chocolatier who set up his kitchen just weeks before lockdown is looking forward to his biggest-ever sales event — and will mark it by launching more delicious flavours.
Ryan Owens, who trades as Ryan Owens Chocolate, is now working hard to produce the new varieties after signing up for a trade stand at the Nottinghamshire County Show, which is taking place at Newark Showground on May 14.
The show is expected to attract thousands of people from across the county and the surrounding area and is on a different scale to the village events that Ryan has sold his chocolates, which are all handmade, at before.
And he says the appearance is a big step forward for Ryan Owens Chocolate, which was launched in 2018 but relocated to Newark in late 2019 to enable Ryan to increase production — only for the country to go into lockdown a few months later.
He said: “Before lockdown I did a couple of village shows, which went really well, and a local market, but I had to switch to selling online and I haven’t done anything face to face since, especially not on this scale.
“I’m excited to be a part of it because it’s local and I’m pushing on with getting my name known, so it’s a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m going to be launching my new branding and one or two flavours, although I haven’t decided what they will be at the moment.”
Ryan, who is based on Cafferata Way, started his chocolate journey in 2015 when he completed a Callebaut Foundation Chocolate Course, after which he honed his skills by making chocolates for friends and family.
Two years later he quit his job to turn his hobby into a living, trained as a pastry chef at the Ashburton Chefs Academy and then set up his business, moving to Newark the following year to set up a professional production kitchen.
Later that year he won the Academy of Chocolate Bronze Award for his passionfruit bon-bons and has continued to work hard and grow his business ever since.
He said: “The shows I did before went really well. It’s lovely meeting people face to face and talking to them about my chocolate and seeing what they think of them.
“My most popular products are my passion fruit bon-bons and mixed fruit and nut mediants, but I am looking forward to launching my new flavours and seeing what the reaction to them is on the day.”
Other Newark firms set to make an appearance at the show include specialist coffee company Beyond Coffee and Butternut Box fresh dog food.
