Derry pastry chef develops luxury premium chocolate range

Monto Mansour, a Derry based pastry chef and owner of Monto Chocolates, has developed a range of branded luxury premium chocolate bon bons.

He was assisted by the Business Support Centre at the North West Regional College (NWRC) in Derry.

He explains: ‘’I set out to develop a range of branded luxury premium chocolate bon bons but required support with the chocolate labelling, calculations of milk and cocoa solids within recipe and upskilling in allergen management during production and the associated labelling skills specific to coatings and fillings.

‘’I made contact with NWRC’s Business Support Centre and they put me in touch with NWRC Foodovation manager, Stella Graham, who told me about the InnovateUs programme which is funded by the Department for the Economy.

“It allowed me to avail of 30 hours of one to one mentoring support from NWRC’s culinary technical consultant who provided upskilling in chocolate legislation, calculations of milk and cocoa solids within the recipes, allergen labelling including the processing considerations of allergens and relative labelling requirements specific to coatings and fillings.

‘’Foodovation has been an invaluable help, offering hands on support with a great depth of knowledge at every stage of my product development. I’m delighted that I’ve been able to develop my own branded range of luxury premium chocolate bon bons and I have plans to move into businesses premises within the next years as business grows.’’

Stella Graham adds: ’’We’re delighted to have helped Monto on his food journey. He approached Foodovation for support to develop his products and worked with Foodovation technical consultants and staff to develop them and bring them to market using Department for the Economy InnovateUs funding support. He was a pleasure to work with and we wish him all the very best of  luck with his business which no doubt will continue to grow from strength to strength.’’

Monto Chocolates premium chocolate bon bons are available to buy online and instore at Scarpello & Co in Derry/Londonderry and The Counter Deli in Letterkenny. They will also be available to retail in Belfast and Dublin early in the New Year.