Chocolate At Home Studio
I've opened a dedicated chocolate masterclass studio in Stone, Staffordshire.
I‘ve opened a dedicated chocolate masterclass studio in Stone, Staffordshire. It happened quickly and was unexpected to a point. In September 2024, I decided to head outside one morning for a run, the only run I did in 2025. I think it was the universe giving me direction, signs and instructions for my next chapter. I ran a huge loop around Stone, the pretty canal town in Staffordshire. Why Stone? My partner David lived here, and I was spending most weekends here in between living in Staithes, North Yorkshire. I ran past what I think is a very attractive industrial estate on the outskirts of the town, and I saw a vacant lower ground unit with huge windows and what looked like a good-sized studio room. To be frank, my first thought was it’s going to be too expensive, so why even consider it.
Well, it turned out that it was affordable, and the terms are flexible, so I said yes and collected the keys in November 2025. Taking on the studio meant doing all the work needed ourselves. Getting contractors in was not an option. This being my partner, David, and I, and our overalls were on, and painting the walls started that same day we collected the keys. I know what it takes to turn a slightly rough industrial space into something food safe, clean and styled to reflect the business, offering and a place you want to spend time. We got our hands very dirty over the following weeks. When I say a lot of wall filler was used, and of course, we didn’t buy enough paint, so multiple trips were needed. The unit has double-height ceilings in the main studio, so it took so much work to get this to look kitchen-ready. I say the main studio as the property is made up of a number of rooms, which gives us lots of flexibility and storage.
We worked six weeks solid from January 2nd 2025, with no days off to get everything ready and there were a few tears, frustrations and laughter too.
One of the rooms is going to be used for something very special by David. Updates to follow.
On a very cold February morning and we tick off the final niggles on the snagging list. These include our kitchen tiling, which was a first for David and I as we had never tiled before, A welcome board using pink scrabble letters to welcome all our guests, made from scratch by us, a deep clean and the checklist of ingredients. When I say we did all the work ourselves, it was mainly David, as my DIY skills are not my forte. We had help and support from wonderful family members and the management team at Whitebridge Industrial Estate were amazing in supporting us start up, and their help has and still is amazing.
So, what is Chocolate At Home? Imagine a space dedicated to the enjoyment of chocolate and learning what it is, how it works and what you can do with it. It’s 20 years this year since I created a new chocolate at home and entered my sea salted caramel into the Academy of Chocolate Awards, winning a gold award and igniting my career as a chocolatier. I feel the desire and duty to now share my skills and techniques so we have a growing population of amateur and professional chocolatiers. It’s incredibly rewarding to impart knowledge that you may otherwise keep to yourself until it’s too late to share.
What can you expect as a visitor to Chocolate At Home? A very warm welcome with a mug of my water-based hot chocolate, a classic fudge brownie and time to chat about chocolate before getting hands-on in the studio. We have four stations, so our classes are not large. This is intentional, so everyone has one-to-one time with me while enjoying their class. The focus has always and will always be, can I do this at home, or in my restaurant kitchen, so you won't see any industrial equipment or tempering machines. All the chocolate is tempered by hand by me or by each guest. We use Guittard couvertures, Billington’s sugars, NHR organic essential oils, and wonderful equipment from Hexclad, Magimix and Ikea. Yes Ikea! Our kitchen is a home from home feeling kitchen with equipment you have at home.
What kind of classes are we running? Our signature class is a one-to-one full-day masterclass. This is the class I started teaching in my own home, and it’s our most popular masterclass. The day teaches all the fundamentals, including tabletop tempering, ganache, caramel, bars, decoration, presentation, tips, trouble shooting and lots of tasting. I even give guests a full supplier list and contacts making buying the equipment and chocolate easier than ever.
Other classes include Perfect Brownie Baking, Filled Bars, Perfect Truffle Masterclass, Couples chocolate making, Corporate entertaining and team building, plus demonstrations, tastings and bespoke classes so guests can build their own class.
We are up and running, the doors are open, and a new website is being built. Our Facebook page is Chocolate At Home Studio, and our email address for enquiries is chocolateathomeinfo@gmail.com
Chocolate At Home, 18a Whitebridge Industrial Estate, Whitebridge Way, Stone, ST15 8LQ
A new adventure in chocolate for me and David and for all our current and future guests.
