Earls Barton chocolatier ‘surprised’ to scoop up three Great Taste Awards for 'unusual' flavoured treats

An Earls Barton chocolatier has been awarded three Great Taste Awards for a handful of unique flavours.

Sara Pateman of Station Road creates charming chocolates under the business name ‘Choccies by Sara’ from a specialised kitchen in her home, and three of her more adventurous flavours have won national prizes.

The Great Taste Awards offer ‘straightforward and impartial’ feedback at the world’s largest food and drink accreditation scheme.

She said: “I didn’t expect it, and I think that’s the lovely thing, although I’ve worked in food pretty much all my life this is really nice.

“I really did not expect to win awards in my first year, I was really surprised.

"I make everything, I do it all myself.

“I don’t use food flavourings, I don’t tend to compromise.

"It’s all about the flavour, these are luxury chocolates.”

Prompted to enter the award scheme by an ex-colleague, Sara was initially hesitant, but the decision to submit three flavours turned out to be a worthwhile one.

Sara added: “I had a few suggestions, a couple I took them up on, the tiramisu and limoncello, but I wanted one slightly unusual, so I picked the rosemary and thyme because I know it’s a nice one.

“It sounds weird, but it’s beautiful.”

Subsequently, the limoncello and rosemary and thyme chocolate treats received one star, and the tiramisu sweets claimed two, a feat only achieved by around 10 per cent of applicants.

Taking inspiration from all around, Sara’s ideas range from cocktails like mojitos and cosmopolitans, to more conventional classics like salted caramel that can be decorated in all manner of interesting colour combinations. It’s a culmination of years of being in the food industry, with Sara spending 15 years as a food teacher, and 12 years working in environmental health.

The Great Taste Awards are a part of The Guild of Fine Food, an organisation that looks to ‘support, celebrate, and encourage independent food and drink retailers and the producers that supply them’, with each accolade lasting for three years.

Sara intends to submit more creative ideas next year, and is ‘constantly thinking of things to do and create.’

More information about Choccies by Sara can be found here.