Doors open for new artisan chocolate lovers in the Mournes

NearyNógs Chocolate Makers has won a host of awards for the innovation and outstanding taste of its products.

Visitors to the small chocolate factory in the Mournes will enjoy an introduction to chocolate sourcing and production on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays during April as part of the TourismNI and FoodNI focus on sustainable tourism experiences.

It’s an ideal – and tasty - trip especially over the Easter holiday period.

The picturesque plant has become a model of sustainable production through the application of renewable technologies including solar panels to power the operation.

The cacao beans they stone grind by hand are also all ethically sourced from the Dominican Republic, Sao Tome, Ecuador, South America and West Africa. “We then hand sort every cacao bean, gently roast, stone grind, age and then temper into beautiful chocolate bars,” Shane explains.

“We aim to showcase the amazing flavours and tasting notes in every cacao bean we source.  We do this without additives, emulsifiers or artificial flavouring,” he adds.

The company is the only producer of stoneground chocolates in Northern Ireland and among only a handful in Britain and Ireland.

Shane will provide a 45-minute walk-through of the chocolate process before visitors are able to enjoy a similar period of sampling various origins of cacao beans and products.

“We are delighted to be part of the imaginative TourismNI/FoodNI programme and to show visitors how we handcraft quality chocolate from beans sourced from sustainable growers,” says Shane. “We are keen to enable people here to experience the distinctively rich flavours of handcrafted chocolate from the best cacao beans we are able to source,” he adds.

“We’ll also show visitors how to make their own chocolates,” he continues. “We developed our small factory in the Mournes with the intention to welcome visitors really interested in our chocolates,” he says. Transparency is an important commitment for the couple.

“All of our packaging is also made from recycled sources and is either recyclable or compostable after use.  Our postal boxes and paper tape are also made from recycled materials,” he continues.

He describes the factory as “a place for chocolate making, people gathering and story-telling”.

NearyNógs has also been working with Killowen Distillery, a near neighbour in the Mournes, on chocolates with whiskey and gin fillings.

It is now supplying chocolates to some of the most prestigious retailers and chefs in Britain, the Republic of Ireland and further field. Their regular customers include Fortnum and Mason, the high-end food store in London’s Piccadilly. It was a measure of Fortnum and Mason confidence in the artisan chocolate maker that it invited the local company to play a key role in the creation of a unique chocolate

product using renewable technologies including a sailboat carrying cocoa beans for NearyNógs to craft the chocolate bars.

“Working with such a prestigious client such as Fortnum and Mason on the sailboat project was a marvellous experience. We continue to develop our valued relationship with the store on other projects,” Shane says. Premium chocolate, in addition, was provided to chef Jeremy Lee of the respected Quo Vadis restaurant in London.

The chef met the couple during a visit to the RUAS Balmoral Show with FoodNI. It also operates a very successful monthly subscription service for customers in many international markets.

The couple started making artisan chocolate to raise funds for a daughter, Erin, to undertake a charity project in India. The chocolate proved extremely popular and encouraged the couple to start making it initially for local food markets in the Newry area.

Originally from Seattle, Dorothy, a qualified nurse, had decided to leave home in the US and travel to Mayo, home of her grandmother, to learn more about Ireland. She’d heard about Belfast and subsequently travelled north to see if she could make a difference.

Dorothy met Shane, a graphic designer, who had been working on a voluntary basis on the Shankill and then moved into the chocolate business. They started making a fudge-style chocolate from a recipe from Dorothy’s grandmother in the US.

What began as a kitchen table venture quickly proved successful and led to a move to a small factory near the border with the Republic and then to the scenic location in the Mournes. The ambitious entrepreneurs decided to invest in making their own chocolate by stone grinding single origin cacao beans which they roast shell, crack and winnow to produce cocoa nibs. “We then grind the nibs by hand to create a paste for use in producing the bars with a cocoa content around 70 per cent,” he adds.