Today we meet Julia, of Truffle Witch who joins us for the first time at Patcham on Saturday 10th March. We look forward to meeting her and trying her chocolates!…
I’m Julia Cunningham and I am Truffle Witch, an artisan chocolatier and confectioner. I’m not really a witch – some ex-colleagues called me that in jest because I’m a Reiki master and it stuck! A little over a year ago, I reached a point in my life where things needed to change. I felt burnt out in my career so, on the spur of the moment, I decided to leave. I’d always liked the idea of opening a cafe and, while I was looking around for suitable premises, I thought I might as well develop my hobby of making chocolate truffles, planning to sell them in the cafe. I had fun developing my skills with some professional training and, before I knew it, chocolate had taken over. Somehow, life never works out as planned!
My aim is to make chocolates and confectionery that are good quality yet affordable and that taste as good as they look. I guess I’d describe my brand style as classic and elegant – just like me, of course! I’m happy to say I get many compliments on my packaging and presentation as well as the taste of my creations.
Working with chocolate has brought out a creative side I’d forgotten I had. It’s very different to and far more enjoyable than my previous job but, has it’s own stresses. Our humid English weather couldn’t be worse for working with chocolate and sugar! I think the thing I like most is seeing the pleasure on people’s faces when they taste a truffle sample. It feels good to make people smile.
This will be my first time at a Fairy Tale event and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m currently busy making chocolate shoes, Easter eggs, caramels, Turkish delight, Montelimar nougat, my best selling vanilla fudge and whatever else I have time for. Of course, I will also be bringing along a selection of chocolate truffles. You can make your choice from my most popular flavours and have them made up into a gift box while you wait. I will also have some dairy free creations available.
I have plans to develop by business within the next few months but, I’m keeping them under wraps for now.
My favourite inspirational quote is an old Tibetan proverb – “it is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep”.
You can see a full list of my truffle flavours and other creations on my website
www.trufflewitch.co.uk and I’m also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
