After finishing off culinary school at Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine and spending time in the industry down in Cape Town, the idea of Cocoa Africa started to form.
I started my time in the industry at Greenhouse restaurant, Constantia (at the time it was the 5th best restaurant in the country) under Chef’s Peter Tempelhof and Ashely Moss. It was here that I spent a lot of time in the pastry section learning valuable skills and working with unique flavours and pairings.
I stayed in Cape Town and moved on to working with chocolate and learning the art behind this beautiful ingredient. I soon realized there is so much more to it than what meets the eye (and taste buds) and continued to learn more. It became an interest that quickly turned into a burning passion. I had the privilege of working with the best ingredients and equipment that the chocolate industry has to offer as well as learning the skills of handcrafted chocolate without the fancy equipment.
After a few years I realized I couldn’t go on for much longer without putting my ideas out into the world and so the brainstorming began. It was during this time that moving back to my home town, Hillcrest, in KZN was put onto my heart.
To gain additional knowledge and skill, I did a course with world renowned chocolatier, Melissa Coppel and then began the process of starting something of my own. After lots of experimenting, testing and tasting… Cocoa Africa started in November 2020.
The name – Cocoa Africa was the first name that came to mind, and it stuck. I wanted the name to include aspects relating to chocolate but most importantly relating to my home, Africa.
This business pride’s itself most on doing everything properly, giving you the best quality from packaging to tasting. Each chocolate made in our kitchen is hand painted, filled, and packaged with so much love and care. Our chocolates are made using the highest quality ingredients we can source. Chocolate from France and Belgium, nuts from South African soil and infusions either found locally or abroad – all of these ingredients are carefully put together for your best chocolate experience.
We hope you enjoy our products as much as we enjoy making them.
Jordin Shelly
Owner and chocolatier of Cocoa Africa