Timothy Rochford, Chocolatier

Every Rochford Chocolate is created with the same curiosity I had as a child.

When I was 12 years old, I entered a competition advertised in the Women’s Weekly to be a chocolate taster.

The entry required me to describe my favourite Cadbury product. It was an easy choice. I wrote about tearing the foil and releasing the aroma from a shiny, sharp slab of Dairy Milk Chocolate, snapping off a shard and letting it melt in my mouth.

 The day the large box of Cadbury products arrived as a prize was the start of my adventure. At the top of the box of confections was a badge appointing the wearer — me — as an ‘official Cadbury taster’.

 For the next eighteen months, my job was to give my opinions on a wide range of Cadbury products. I had to find words for flavour, texture and aroma, and explain what was memorable about each product and why. I learned that tasting isn't just eating — it's slowing down, noticing, comparing and understanding.

 Creating chocolate came decades later — first as gifts for family and friends, then through sales at markets, for corporate clients and online.

 I refined my skills while working with master chocolatiers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. I remain committed to using pure, local and seasonal ingredients as often as possible and taking the time to craft, experiment and make chocolates in the traditional way.

 My work with chocolate is influenced by a lifetime of experiences. I aspire for every chocolate to be savoured the way I experienced that first bar when I was twelve — purposefully and slowly.