point of view, it’s much closer. i think that the three or four best chocolatiers in london could compete with the best in Paris.”

Despite the dozens of awards that William has won for his chocolates, he still regards himself more as a patissier than a chocolatier. “Most of the chocolatiers who take it seriously in the UK are traditionally pastry cooks. When i started out cooking, i didn’t start with chocolates.” this approach is reflected by the stunning displays in William’s two shops, in which more space is devoted to his patisserie than his chocolates.

William is realistic about being an artisan patissier and chocolatier. “as your business gets bigger, you do buy little bits of machinery,” he said. “in the beginning, i used to use a three-pronged fork to dip every single chocolate. We’re chefs and we want to use craft skills. at the same time, we don’t want to be foolish, so we have to ask ourselves, ‘what’s the most economical way to dip chocolates?’ so we bought ourselves a little enrober.”

he is determined, however, not to lose his point of difference. “We still do things by hand, and i think you have to be careful to strike a balance,” he insisted. “there’s no point being like a factory that’s sterile and hospitalised with lots of machinery, because no one will want to work for me and that’s not what i’m about. i’d lose my edge.”

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