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Chantal Coady

Chantal Jane Coady O.B.E. (born 17 April 1959), is a British chocolatier, author and business woman.

Biography

Coady was born on 17 April 1959 in Tehran, Iran[1] and has lived and worked in London since the mid-1970s. She studied at Mary Datchelor School,[2] before studying art at the Camberwell College of Arts.[3]

She founded the British chocolatiers and cocoa growers Rococo Chocolates Ltd. in 1983,[4][5] wanting to change the way that fine chocolate was perceived by selling British-made dark chocolate grown at a single estate in Granada.[6] She came up with the name for the company during a three-week business studies course.[3]

Coady was appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of June 2014 "for services to chocolate making".[4] In 2017, she collaborated with Roald Dahl’s estate to create chocolates inspired by his children's books and introduced a Christmas range of chocolates and clothing in the shop luxury high-street shop Jigsaw.[3]

Rococo Chocolates Ltd. went into administration in 2019. Following her departure from Rococo Chocolates Ltd., Coady founded another venture later in 2019, trading as The Chocolate Detective and focusing on ethical production and sourcing slavery-free chocolate.[7][8][9]

Coady was appointed the co-chair of The Academy of Chocolate in 2021.[10] She also works as creative director, brand ambassador and on the board of directors at the Prestat Group.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Soul Food: Chantal Coady on buckwheat pancakes". Telegraph.co.uk. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  2. ^ Lacey, Hester (28 November 2014). "The Inventory: Chantal Coady". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Q&A: CHANTAL COADY". Marylebone Journal. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Queen's birthday honours list 2014: OBE". the Guardian. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Chantal Coady: the business woman who introduced the UK to dark chocolate". Workspace. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Rococo Chocolates: Our Story". Rococo Chocolates. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Notes on chocolate: spring eggs to make you sing like a thrush". the Guardian. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. ^ "About Chantal". The Chocolate Detective. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Award-winning chocolatier to visit the Isle of Wight". Isle of Wight County Press. 16 March 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  10. ^ "The Academy of Chocolate announces new board appointments". Academy of Chocolate. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Chantal Coady OBE makes major return to Rococo and Prestat as creative director". Confectionery Production. Retrieved 12 April 2025.