Offering courses for home cooks and the professional and covering everything from ‘bean to bar’, Hunters Chocolate aims to inspire chocolate lovers everywhere with insight into the chocolate-making process.

All classes are hands-on and are suitable for anyone who has an interest in chocolate, whether you want to learn new skills, develop existing skills, make chocolates at home, update your professional knowledge, or are even considering starting your own business.

Courses will cover:

• Chocolate tasting from plantation
• Single origin and blended grades
• Diverse methods of tempering, moulding and filling
• Practical sessions to create your own bars
• Spraying and colouring techniques and flavour pairing fillings to single origin chocolate

Twenty years ago Gary became a UK chocolate ambassador for Barry Callebaut and since then he has represented the UK as a judge for the World Chocolate Masters competition.

Hunter said: “Leaving full time work has handed me a golden opportunity to pursue one of my lifetime passions. Originally I’d intended to hold a few masterclasses in artisan chocolate skills to ease me into retirement but the more I experimented and shared my creations with friends and family, the more it became obvious that there is a shared love and a hunger for knowledge of premium chocolate among home cooks and professionals, as well as those who just like to indulge in this centuries-old delicacy.”

Hunters Chocolate also has a retail range that is available to buy. He added: “We refuse the additives and mass assembly lines in favour of handcrafting each piece from premium chocolate, butter, nuts and spices and only use natural flavours. The end creation is a line of signature chocolates and imaginative innovations that taste, look, and smell like nothing else.”