Plaisir du Chocolat

Ever since he was a young boy in Paris, Bertrand Espouy has loved the exotic and it was while working in the Sudan that he met his first wife, originally from Edinburgh. Shortly after the outbreak of the first Iraq War Bertrand, soon found himself relocating to Edinburgh and in search of work.

Although a self-trained chef, Bertrand immediately found employment in one of the top hotels on the west coast of Scotland. Over the years, he became well known throughout Scotland for his cooking and baking before deciding to focus on a Chocolate Salon with business partner Heather Kiernan. Originally from Canada, Heather moved to the Scottish Borders nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Now the production part of the company has moved down there as well. Established in the summer of 2000, Plaisir du Chocolat has expanded from three locations in Scotland and two in England, to new outlets opening shortly in the Middle East.

When they relocated to Tweed Horizons in July 2005, Plaisir du Chocolat was awarded an RSA (Regional Selective Assistance) from the Scottish Government to help purchase new equipment, and to encourage the training and employment of local youth.

Heather says:

“People are always amazed by how beautiful our location in the Borders is. You drive to our ‘laboratoire’ along an avenue lined with Silver Birch trees and sloping lawns. You can see the Eildon Hills on one side and on the other, for miles and miles into the distance, the Cheviots.”

Located near Newtown St. Boswells, “Horizon House was originally the gymnasium part of an old school run by the White Fathers, and was taken over some years ago by Scottish Enterprise Borders. With its pastoral surroundings, it’s a very human place to work, do business and is always a joy for people to arrive at in the morning.”

“Relocating to the Borders was really a lifestyle choice. When I wake up in the morning, and go into the garden, it really helps to focus the mind and stabilize me for what will normally be a frenetic day ahead.”

Bertrand explains why he likes the Borders:

“We didn’t have any problem moving our production down there as we already had a boutique in Melrose that we have to supply with chocolates. We asked our Maître Chocolatier, Olivier Nicod and his partner Vicky Rogerson if they would be prepared to move down to the Borders and they had no hesitation at all. In fact they were happy to leave the city and now live on a nearby farm.”

“Bianca Dulaney originally from Germany, is another of our professional team. Both she and Olivier have acquired really talented Scottish assistants.”

“Although employers often have difficulties retaining staff, we have been generally very pleased with ours in the Borders. We have two fantastic girls—Rhona, formerly a textile designer who may soon be heading her own department, and Clare, a former sous chef from Kelso. They both work extremely hard, and are now very skilled with chocolate and pastry.”

“I think that is also worth pointing out that our facility at Tweed Horizons acts as a venue for one of the world’s premier culinary colleges, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). With only two CIA approved establishments in the whole of the UK, Plaisir du Chocolat trains several external candidates each year.”

Is Heather tempted to move back to a big city?

“No, I can’t see us moving from the Borders. It’s perfect for what we want to do. As we develop the business into London, beginning with Selfridges and then into the Near and Middle East, we will need plenty of room for expansion.”

“In a few years time, we will connected to Edinburgh by the Borders Rail Link and more and more people will discover the Borders as a fantastic place to live and work”

Bertrand broadens his vision for the future:

“At the moment we are focusing on our first franchise in the Middle East. We were approached nearly a year ago by a civil servant from the Ministry of Culture in Qatar about recreating our Edinburgh Salon in Doha.”

“Although you’d think chocolate wouldn’t be popular in a hot country, the people there spend a lot of time in huge, air-conditioned shopping malls. As they are very much a café society, we expect that what we offer will be very successful.”

“The people of the Middle East are quite sophisticated in their tastes of food, culture and architecture. It was extremely flattering to have been approached. We continue to build a relationship and expect our project there to begin in January 2007. Just think of it…..we will be flying chocolates each week to the Middle East from London and they will be made in Scotland.”

Heather says:

“We’ve certainly come a long way from the 35 covers? in our Edinburgh Salon six years ago. Now we are in Manchester and London, in all probability will be in Harvey Nichols Istanbul by September and then Qatar. My expectation is that within a couple of years we will also be in a position to add Harvey Nichols Dubai and Riyadh.”

“It really is an exciting time for us as we continue to grow both as a company and as a brand. Our name is becoming more widely known and perhaps more importantly, associated with quality and luxury. In addition to the plethora of articles that have been written about us (in everything from the New York Times and London Times, to Harpers Queen and Conde Nast), we have also recently featured in a television series called ‘The Woman Who Ate Scotland’.”

Like Baudelaire’s poem, L’Invitation au Voyage, Plaisir du Chocolat has been taking Scots and visitors to Scotland on a voyage of discovery, allowing them to sample the exotic. Now people all over the world will be able to have a little piece of the exotic and it comes all the way from Scotland!

• Plaisir du Chocolat
• Borders Rail Link
• ‘The woman who ate Scotland’