Can't think why, but something's giving me a chocolate craving on Sunday nights... Could it be the gradual emergence of Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory on Channel 4? 

 

Like a chocolatey cross between the River Cottage and The Apprentice, this fascinating show follows chocolate enthusiast Willie and his family through (so far) setting up a cacao plantation in Venezuela, a chocolate milling factory near Tiverton, a sales presentation at Selfridges and a farmers' market in Cullompton.  

 

Having started my own far less risky and much smaller business, I find the 'wing and a prayer' style business developments both fascinating and encouraging (or perhaps it's just TV making it seem like everything's balanced on a knife edge). They seem to have a massive amount of drive and self assurance to carry this off: it's more than a business, it's a calling.

 

In Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory, I see them also risking their time and energy, and working late to meet their goals in time, but on a grander scale, borrowing £10,000s and counting on this venture to provide their family's income, bigger profits, and realization of their world class chocolate dream. 

 

Meanwhile, the family both benefit, contribute and put up with it, experiencing life in Venezuela, growing and harvesting cacao crops, cooking from scratch and eating lots of top quality chocolate. I feel for Willie's wife when he has to jet off to Spain at a minute's notice to buy a new machine for his factory, but hey, come on, it's chocolate! Rather than sharing the chocolate passion to the same extent, Willie's wife seems like a strong and very supportive character in her own right. (I seriously wonder what will happen if any of them get sick of it: hope they make it big first. I guess it's a drawback of reality TV that the people in it start to seem fictional, and TV shows edit things to provide drama - on the other hand, they are getting a massive commercial out of this!)  

 

Interspersed with the business developments, we see Willie cooking with chocolate for every occasion: hot chocolate for his farm workers, truffles and cake for the farmers' market and Selfridges, and a chocolate marinated spit-roast pig for everyone he knows in Venezuela (come on, we've all done that haven't we!). 

 

His actual product is several kinds of top quality 100% cocoa chocolate in cylindrical shapes, which he grates into all of his recipes. I would love to try something simple like the hot chocolate to test out each different version of these (here's the recipe) . Note to Willie and co: if you're reading, we need to know how to buy this stuff!

 

Hopefully as they're based in Devon it will appear at one of the Darts farm food fairs soon. If so, and I get to buy some, it will be reviewed here shortly afterwards :)

 

 

Interview with Willie of the Wonky Chocolate Factory (opens in an new tab or window)