Duffy's

Duffy Sheardown is the chocolate maker behind Duffy’s Chocolate, based in Lincolnshire. A former motorsport engineer, Duffy is a lifelong chocolate enthusiast who turned to chocolate making in 2007 when he heard on BBC Radio that only Cadbury roasted their own beans in the UK. Shocked by this statistic, Duffy wanted to change that, so he started making his own chocolate.

The idea of chocolate and engineering sound almost opposites, but Duffy explains “At first sight the worlds of motorsport and chocolate couldn’t be more different. I’ve moved from science and certainty to art and alchemy. On closer acquaintance, both involve huge passion, long hours, hard work and a certain technical rigour.”

Duffy’s chocolate is made with a precision honed over years of motorsport, with the chocolate-making process refined to the nth degree. A truly bean-to-bar
product, Duffy takes his time, stone-grinding the nibs for upwards of 50 hours to allow the naturally rich and complex flavours to emerge. His fabulous 65% Dark Raspberry is a very popular sweet and fruity dark chocolate and his Mochaccino perfectly balances the flavours of cocoa and coffee.

Paying a premium to get his beans straight from the source, Duffy helped to set up the Direct Cocoa group that seeks to give back to cocoa farmers across the world. As part of this work, he has taken plenty of time to educate young farmers about making their own chocolate alongside schemes such as Tropical Farms from Sierra Leone.