Guests and volunteers at St Bede’s Open House in Bedlington shared in the sweet taste of success when a local entrepreneur brought the art of chocolate-making to their church hall.
The visit was arranged by Open House volunteer, Alison Johnston after a trip to Kenspeckle, a hand-made chocolate specialist based in Lynemouth. With the Open House guests never far from her mind, Alison took advantage of her trip to organise a visit to their project and made the booking there and then.
The chocolate evening was a massive hit with everyone at Open House as they learned how the business had grown from its small beginnings to recently winning an exclusive order with Harrods for their black cinder toffee ‘coal’.
As the luxurious chocolates slowly took shape layer by layer during the evening, guests were able to fit in their usual quizzes, bingo and conversation until the time came to put the finished delicacies to the taste test.
“The whole process took about 90 minutes, so we had plenty of time for our usual activities,” said Alison. “Mind you, I think everyone had one eye on the chocolates waiting for them to be ready! We were all thrilled that the truffles we got to eat at the end of the session had been created right in our own church hall.”
The chocolate-making demonstration is just one of many fascinating and enjoyable activities organised by volunteers for guests attending St Bede’s Open House, one of fifteen Parish and Community Enablement (PACE) projects set up around the region with our support.