Global expert develops taste for unique Irish Soda Bread Chocolate Bar

Acclaimed by The Chocolate Professor as one of the UK’s top chocolate treats, the bar is a 60 per cent dark chocolate handcrafted by NearyNógs, a family business located near Rostrevor, Co Down, with beans from from Kekeli, Togo, West Africa.

The uniquely Northern Irish product, created by husband and wife team Shane and Dorothy Neary, incorporates “gently toasted traditional Irish soda bread, adding a delightful crunch to the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate is a harmonious blend of rich, chocolatey flavour and the comforting taste of soda bread, celebrating a cherished Irish tradition,” according to The Chocolate Professor, an online publication on all things chocolate.

Shane said: “We are thrilled to be rated by such an influential chocolate expert among the top ten bars to be experienced in the UK. Luke Owen Smith, the author, is among the most respected international experts on chocolate. It is a further endorsement of the quality and innovation underpinning all our chocolate creations.

“It’s marvellous to have our Irish Soda Bread chocolate bar included as one of the artisan products involved in the global renaissance of quality chocolate and especially among bean-to-bar producers in the UK. We are the only bean-to-bar producer of stoneground chocolate in Northern Ireland, which means we create a variety of chocolates from cocoa beans sourced from small estates in nations such as Togo,” adds Shane.

Developed initially by Dorothy Neary, originally from Seattle, the ingredients include Irish buttermilk soda bread, gently toasted and then crushed with a rolling pin and then swirled in dark chocolate.

NearyNógs Stoneground Chocolate, established in 2011, is NI’s first bean-to-bar craft chocolate maker.

Located on the coast of Carlingford Lough, the solar-powered factory produces chocolate which has won a host of international awards for innovation, quality and outstanding taste.