From William Curley

Welcome to the April edition of the Chocolate Post. It has been an exciting time recently for the whole team with the announcement of a new shop in Pimlico Green, which we hope to open in the summer. Also, we are all very proud of the great results we’ve enjoyed at the 2009 Academy of Chocolate Awards where William picked up Best British Chocolatier for the third year in a row..

It is very rewarding for everyone involved in our business; we have a great young team of Chocolatiers and Patissiers and we all strive to be the best at what we do on a consistent basis.

Best wishes

William & Suzue

Easter and Eggs are synonymous with each other and the origins behind this stretch back many hundreds of years, although the connection with the chocolate variety are a fairly new introduction.

Eggs remain the most identifiable symbol of Easter

In the very early days eggs were decorated with bright colours to represent the coming of spring and the growth of new plants and animals and used in egg rolling or given away as gifts, sometimes between lovers and romantic admirers much in the same way as Valentine gifts.

Different countries have different traditions for their egg decoration with gold and silver favoured by Slavic people, crimson red to represent the blood of Christ in Greece, green eggs for Holy Thursday in parts of Germany and Austria and also in Austria plants are sometimes wrapped around eggs before they are boiled. It is also quite common in some countries for eggs to have their insides blown out to leave the empty shell, which is then decorated and hung from shrubs and trees during Easter week.

In keeping with this very best of traditions, we at William Curley have created an exciting new collection for 2009, with a varied number of eggs and novelties to ensure that there is something for everyone!

If you are unable to visit us at the shop, our selection of Easter Eggs can be purchased online on our website.

It gives us great pleasure to announce that William Curley will become the first ambassador for the Amedei chocolate brand.

Having already enjoyed a successful and rewarding partnership, Amedei and William Curley will cement this relationship further by working more closely together on a number of future projects. This means all our creations will be made purely with Amedei chocolate.

"We believe that there is currently no finer brand of quality chocolate on the market than Amedei. I recognise that being the sole chocolatier in the UK exculsively using only Amedei in his products is a rare honour and feel this reinforces my commitment to bringing the finest chocolates both to my art and more importantly, to my customers."

For me, this is all about pioneering new ideas in chocolate whilst setting the standards for quality."

Cecilia Tessieri commented, "I find in William Curley, uprightness and passion; the same cultural approach to the world of chocolate that we share, made of creativity and the constant testing of inspiration and technique.

"I’m proud that William has taken on this prestigious task and I’m sure that being such a perfect match will bring our brands to be ever higher level of leadership and prestige".

Spotlight

At William Curley we have a growing number of talented young chef’s. As a business we take education and training very seriously. In conjunction with Thames Valley University and Westminster College, we try to develop the next generation of chocolatiers and patissiers.

This month we feature Sarah Frankland who joined our team in February 2007; she passed her apprenticeship at Westminster with a credit and also previously worked for Angela Hartnett at The Connaught.

William Curley says, "Sarah is incredibly enthusiastic and has bags of energy!!! She has become a very important team player. Sarah is building a great foundation for her work and co-works in all the different areas in our kitchen!"

Last year, Sarah was awarded The Academy of Culinary Arts Awards of Excellence

What first got you into cooking?
I attended a one day patisserie course in London when I was 15 years of age and I enjoyed it so much that after I finished my GCSEs I knew this was the career I wanted to be involved with.

Are your family involved in the industry at all?
I am the only person who really likes to cook although in recent years my mother has taken up a lot more baking and these days she often calls me up for help with a recipe.

What were you first steps into the industry like?
Quite daunting to be honest. Once I have finished my GCSEs, I went to college on an apprentice’s scheme. During this time I was really thrown into the "deep-end" and worked with Angela Harnett at The Connaught.
This was a real "baptism of fire" and I very quickly realised just how hard you have to work to be a success in this game. I worked in the pastry section for two and half years. Then one of the chefs at The Connaught recommended that I go to see William Curley in Richmond.

Why did you choose William Curley?
To be honest, at this stage I didn’t know much about William and his work, although I was aware of his shop in Richmond. When I went for an interview I was immediately impressed by the whole business model and especially the plans William and Suzue had for the future. I also wanted to learn more about chocolate and there simply wasn’t any one offering this type of training.

What are your own personal ambitions?
One day I would like to have my own patisserie and chocolate store although at the moment I still have so much still to learn and there is no one in the game I can better learn it from than William and Suzue. They both give us so much scope to expand and add our input to the products produced. It really does feel like you’re part of an extended family as well as an efficient team.

What is your favourite dessert?
My favourite dessert – both to cook and to eat – is the Warm Chocolate Tart.

Moelleux Au Chocolat

A moist and tender chocolate cake that can be enjoyed simply on its own or covered with fresh raspberries or cherries

Ingredients
100gms Unsalted butter
70gms Sugar
100gms Chocolate (63% Toscano Black)
100gms Eggs (2 medium eggs)
80gms Flour
3gms Baking powder

Method
Grease and flour the sides of 12 baking moulds (5cm diameter, 5.5cm height).
Sieve together the flour and the baking powder.
Melt the chocolate to approx 45°C.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light in colour.
Mix in the melted chocolate, beat until smooth.
Gradually add the eggs.
Fold in the flour and baking powder.
Place the mixture into a piping bag.
Pipe the mixture two thirds full into the baking moulds.
Bake at 180°C for 10-12 minutes approx.
Remove and allow to stand for one minute.
Demould and serve immediately.