With Easter on the horizon, artisan chocolate makers Kelli and Patrick Marjolet spill the beans on the intricacies of producing small batch chocolate from bean to bar here in Dublin.
Tell us a bit about your background and what first prompted you to start The Proper Chocolate Company.
The idea for The Proper Chocolate Company was sparked in early 2010s in San Francisco, when Kelli received a bag of cocoa beans as a gift which ignited Patrick’s curiosity about chocolate making from scratch. Together we began experimenting with roasting, grinding, and crafting our own chocolate, diving deep into the bean-to-bar process.
When we returned to Dublin in 2014, our passion had grown into a serious pursuit, leading us to officially launch The Proper Chocolate Company in 2016. Our goal is to bring high-quality, craft bean-to-bar chocolate to Ireland, focusing on single-origin cocoa beans and a meticulous, small-batch production process.
All your chocolate is “made from bean-to-bar” in your facility in Dublin. Can you unpack that for us? How do you go about sourcing the ingredients and how important is sustainability in your processes?
We follow a meticulous process, meaning we control every stage of chocolate production—from sourcing raw cocoa beans to crafting the final chocolate bars in our Dublin facility. We have about 40 criteria for sourcing and choosing cocoa beans, categorised in: cocoa bean variety, cleanliness /absence of defects, level of fermentation and drying, sample testing, sustainability and, of course, meaningful fairtrade practices.
We prefer to work with organizations who offer long term contracts to local smallholder producers, as well as agricultural expertise and training, centralised fermentation, logistical support, and micro-financing. We ask for transparency from our suppliers with regards to farmgate prices (how much premium farmers get vs commodity cocoa), as well as their environmental and human impact. We treat the sugar we use in the same manner. We have used the Green Cane Project’s Native unrefined cane sugar ever since we started. Additionally, we incorporate local Irish ingredients whenever possible, such as Achill Island sea salt and Irish milk from grass-fed cows, reducing food miles when possible.
The price of producing such high-quality treats has skyrocketed recently. How are you meeting those challenges?
It is a significant challenge as the price of specialty cocoa beans has more than doubled (tripled for some origins) in the last 12-15 months. While we had to adjust pricing to reflect the increased cost of production, and made slight adjustments to our milk chocolate recipe, we have decided to maintain our core values. The cocoa bean is centre stage and should not be adulterated with cheap ingredients or packed with sugar. Our milk chocolate has, in fact, now a higher cocoa content than before – more cocoa beans and less cocoa butter.
What can chocolate lovers look forward to enjoying over Easter from The Proper Chocolate Factory?
So, this year, we’re making our pixelated Easter eggs, which will be available in two varieties (and two sizes: 150g and 700g); Milk Chocolate and Blond Salted Caramel and 70% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt. We’re taking custom orders for people looking for an Easter egg made of their personal favourite chocolate. We’re also releasing a peanut butter-filled chocolate egg that will come in a carton of four and will be available in April.
If you had to choose – what’s your favourite?
Ahhhh this is like choosing a favourite child! So here are three answers… Favourite amongst our customers is Tanzania 70% with cocoa nibs and sea salt. Our favourite chocolate to make (most original) is Teeling Whiskey barrel-aged chocolate. And our personal favourites – Kelli’s is the 89% Dominican Republic, Patrick’s is the 73% Costa Rica.
What else do you have in the pipeline for the year ahead?
We’re looking forward to continuing our collaborations with other great Irish producers, which include supplying the house hot chocolate for 3fe, the Teeling Whiskey Barrel-aged chocolate bars and the Boatyard Distillery Double Gin-infused chocolate bars. We’ll also be exploring new cocoa bean origins and new Irish collaborations. And, of course, always in the background there’s experimentation! At the moment we’re thinking about salt-curing beans and producing single origin white chocolate.
Where can people find Proper Chocolate in Dublin?
You’ll find us in some great specialty shops in Dublin including Lotts & Co., Fallon and Byrne, Sweeney’s D3, Noms, The Hopsack, Designist, and The Teeling Distillery. We’re also at two weekly Farmer’s Markets: Naomh Olaf Farmer’s Market on Fridays in Sandyford, and the Glasnevin Food Market (formerly the Honest2Goodness Market) on Saturdays in Glasnevin.
And of course, we also have an online shop, and we ship Easter Eggs!
Words: Martina Murray
Images: Emma Gartland
For a full list of stockists visit propchoc.com
