WHEN it comes to having a dream job it doesn’t get much better than tasting chocolate – and Frodsham has its very own Willy Wonka with his own golden ticket – as a chocolate consultant – and most importantly taster!
Having worked in the chocolate industry for more than 20 years Simon Godden still gets excited when he walks into a room filled with hundreds of tonnes of chocolate and now runs his own business from Frodsham as a chocolate consultant – which of course can lead to plenty of chocolate tasting.
Simon has enjoyed working for Chocolate Manufactures, Confectionery Producers and Cocoa Processors since 1993.
His “delectable career and passion for chocolate” started as a quality assurance technician with a company just outside Eastbourne.
Simon explained: “Here I was fortunate to learn so much about the manufacturing of chocolate, caramel, fudge, jelly, boiled sweets, honeycomb, truffle filling and fondant from highly experienced, traditional confectioners.
“With such enthusiasm and an ever growing knowledge, I took on a senior position at quite a young age and became responsible for ensuring the organoleptic and physical characteristics of every confection developed and produced, met a specified standard – this involved a lot of compulsory tasting!
“This also introduced me to and helped me understand the food safety aspects and regulatory requirements for Chocolate! There are regulations that manufactures must abide by, to enable them to call a product Chocolate.”
Simon left the south coast in 2000 and held a couple of technical positions in Crawley and Telford, before starting his role in 2005 at Classic Couverture (Liverpool) as a New Product Development Manager.
In 2006 this business was acquired by ADM Cocoa, who at the time were the largest cocoa processor in the world.
Simon led a small development team and helped produce a raft of exciting new Products as well as hosting training days for customers, colleagues and industry professionals. This covered topics including chocolate manufacture, the growing and processing of Cocoa, testing methods and how to produce some of the world’s finest chocolates and coatings.
Simon added; “Exposure to so many customers inside and outside the UK opened my eyes to how widespread the love for chocolate and chocolate products across the developed world is. It is true, there are distinct differences in the types of chocolate that are preferred, depending on where consumers live, but the fact remains that most people, individuals and groups, are always very keen to talk about and taste chocolate.
“I have worked with skilled chefs, master chocolatiers and eccentric entrepreneurs, however I still get excited when I walk into a room and there is literally hundreds of tonnes of chocolate being stored.
“The smell is unmistakable and considering the ingredients and process, it is remarkable how such a product was ever invented. Today there is a growing trend for the manufacture of bespoke sophisticated artisan chocolates. These products must not be overlooked and I always love tasting something new, however my skills with trouble shooting, training and tailored recipe creation is where my passion remains and strengths are most recognised.
