CELEBRITY CHEF
Choc ’n’ roll W
illie Harcourt-Cooze is passionate about sourcing the world’s most organic, delicious chocolate and making it popular with the masses. His dream has cost him dearly – along the way, he’s tackled near
bankruptcy, faulty machinery, chronic exhaustion… and a fair few clashes with long-suffering wife Tania. But, as viewers of Channel 4 documentaryWillie’s Wonky Factory
can testify, Willie has turned a pipedream into a booming enterprise. His posh chocolate is stocked in Selfridges and Waitrose. His best friend, Marco Pierre White, uses it at his Yew Tree Inn in Berkshire. “Chocolate is my life,” confesses Willie, 44, who has a voice as
seductive as rich chocolate gateau. “I’m never happier than when I’m making it and I’ve got my fingers in a bowl of it, tasting it every step of the way, from bean to bar.” Willie’s chocolate beans come from the tropical cacao, or cocoa,
trees that grow up to 130ft high on his expansive Venezuelan farm, Hacienda El Toroso. Once harvested, fermented and dried, the beans are shipped to the factory he built in Tiverton, Devon, and turned into edible goods, Willie involved at practically every stage and is not above sleeping at the factory to meet big orders. Somehow he’s also
Best known to millions as the star of TV’s Willie’s Wonky Factory, Willie Harcourt-Cooze has beaten near bankruptcy to set himself on
the road to fulfilling his dream of making chocolate with attitude… INTERVIEW: RACHAEL LLOYD PHOTOS: CRISTIAN BARNET
found the time to write a new cookery book,Willie’s Chocolate Bible, which features 150 inspired recipes from tempting ice creams, cakes and puddings to cacao-laced bread and stew. “It’s not just about the recipes, it’s about my voyage to discover
the history of chocolate,” says Willie. One thing guaranteed to irk him is a discussion over how chocolate has evolved. “It used to be considered good for you, but a lot of the stuff you get today is rubbish – not the slightest bit nutritious and so fattening,” he declares. “Today, your average bar contains no more than five to ten per cent cacao liquor, or raw ingredient, the rest is mainly fat and sugar.” Needless to say, Willie’s own products are more nutritious. He
introduced the first ever 100 per cent cacao bar to Britain two years ago – so pure, it can only be used as an ingredient in cooking. “I hope to persuade more people to use chocolate in this way,” he says. “I grate cacao on my omelette in the mornings and add it to savoury dishes like pies, roasts and stews.” While Willie built up the business, wife Tania effectively became
a chocolate widow, scolding Willie on camera for not spending more time with their children Sophia, 11, William, ten, and Evie, six. But Willie has proved the hard work was worth it, building a quality brand that could yet lead to long-term security. Despite his public school accent and debonair
looks, Willie comes from humble beginnings. He grew up on a farm in Ireland then, during his twenties, he travelled the world and in 1996 he and Tania found a beautiful farm up for sale in Venezuela. “Hacienda El Toroso is paradise, I love the place
and would like to spend far more time there,” he says. The retreat boasts acres upon acres of cacao trees, and has brought about his huge chocolate revolution. “Long may it last,” grins Willie. “Growing up in
Ireland chocolate was such a rarity. Occasionally, us kids would get a box of Black Magic to share and I’d savour each piece. I hope people feel the same way about my chocolate today. Now, I’m on a quest to discover even more beans and flavours because I want to produce the best chocolate in the world.” Turn the page for a chocoholic’s dream dessert.
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