Rococo Chocolates was founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady, who having graduated with a degree in textile design from Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and with a course in running a small business under her belt, was determined to change the British attitude to her abiding passion – chocolate. Back then the idea of artisan chocolate was a vague one. Belgian truffles were about as adventurous as most people got. A nation raised on Mars Bars and slabs of Cadbury’s milk chocolate purchased in grocers or corner shops was likely to take a while to appreciate dark, pure, scented little bars of an altogether different nature sold in a dedicated boutique.

Those in the know, however, flocked to Coady’s first shop on King’s Road (she now has three in London, the flagship being on Motcomb Street in Belgravia). Alongside the original range of dark and milk chocolates customers now have to choose between pralines, ganaches, caramelised nuts dusted with cocoa powder and one of the most indulgent drinking chocolates known to man. Initially, all were packaged in Rococo’s signature white paper printed in blue with antique chocolate moulds. Coady’s ability to spot a gap in the chocolate market married perfectly with her artistic training, resulting in a magical, perfumed shop crammed with delights.

Coady’s new range of artisan bars tells you everything you need to know about her feeling for ingredients and design. Flavours include orange and geranium, Moroccan mint, basil and Perisan lime and Arabic spices. “These smells and tastes evoke childhood memories of the brilliant blue skies in my birthplace Tehran, and windy walks on Cornish beaches,” says Coady. When she came to work on the packaging for the 16 new flavours, she needed only to look to the garden at the Motcomb Street shop and the Moroccan tiles that decorate it. Each bar has a different design, taken from the blues, greens and yellows of the geometrically painted tiles.

The garden also reflects the ingredients used. “The garden has many of the plants which are used as flavours in the bars: jasmine, geranium mint and lavender,” says Coady. The person who knows how to translate these fresh ingredients into chocolates is Laurent Couchaux who has been the principle chocolatier at Rococo Chocolates for the past three years, and who last year was named Chocolatier of the Year at the Academy of Chocolate Awards. “We were absolutely thrilled for Laurent’s talent to be recognised,” says Coady. “He has spent the last two-and-a-half years developing our Rococo Couture range of ganaches. This range is wonderfully versatile, made in very small batches, fresh ingredients and no preservatives, so they need to be eaten very quickly.”