A chocolatier’s move to St Andrews has been a sweet experience as he prepares to extend his shop.
Iain Burnett opened up in South Street last March after withdrawing from a venture in Aberdeen.
His business, based in Grandtully, has grown in a few years from the original chocolate shop and coffee house to supplying three-Michelin-starred chefs and five-star hotels.
His recipe for success was in combining top-quality Scots cream and butter with high-quality single-source cocoa beans from the volcanic island of So Tom in the South Atlantic to create velvet truffles.
Winning awards and acclaim from chefs and experts, the Highland Chocolatier tested the retail market’s appetite for the brand with an island unit in Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre.
After much analysis, St Andrews was chosen as the prime location because of the town’s reputation for top-quality food.
Almost a year after the shop on South Street opened, that decision has paid off as he reported significant growth.
He has now unwrapped plans to expand into the upper floors to host gourmet tastings and demonstrations.
The story of the firm’s success was related to St Andrews Business Club by commercial director Julie Collier, who also brought samples of its multiple award-winning hand-made ‘single-origin’ chocolate truffles.
Members of the club were educated in the subtly different tastes of chocolate made with beans from a range of countries and greatly enjoyed the samples and the talk.
Club president Kenneth Russell proposed thanks.
St Andrews Business Club is an association of people engaged in business who want to be involved in furthering the interests of the town.
Its membership is drawn from individuals with a wide range of business interests: local, national and in some instances global.
Its goal is to stimulate interest in business enterprise for the benefit of the local economy, recognising the strengths and advantages of St Andrews and the brand influence of the St Andrews name throughout the world.