Chocolat Chocolat
Isabelle Chappell seemed destined to become an award-winning chocolatier.
As a child she was introduced to velvety dark chocolate by her French mother, and as an adult, running her fashion brand in Paris, she bought a chocolate shop to transform into a boutique. Watching artisans craft chocolate on the shop floor, she became intrigued, harbouring a dream to one day make chocolate in the window of her own shop. Consequently trained by top chocolatiers across France and Belgium, she was mentored by the late great Peter Thornton.
Realising her dream in 2006, Isabelle launched Chocolat Chocolat with husband Robin in London’s Russell Square, opening a Cambridge outlet three years later. Describing her St Andrew’s Street store as ‘the epitome of what I wanted in a chocolate shop’, Isabelle adored making luxurious, Belgian chocolate in the window. Her signature bouquets – wavy chocolate sheets in tantalising flavours including caramel, praline and seasalt – became a bestseller and she was commissioned to create a dark chocolate with lemon meringue variety to mark the BBC’s 100 Years of Film.
Chocolat Chocolat relocated to Grand Arcade in 2020, but with post-Covid shopping habits shifting online, the bricks-and-mortar premises closed in 2023. Since then, Isabelle has dedicated precious time to creating her much-loved chocolates and devising exciting flavours from a HQ in Hatley St George. She continues to run chocolate making and tasting classes, hosting children’s parties at The Museum of Cambridge and corporate clients and celebrations at Gonville Hotel. The wholesale business is flourishing, with long-term stockists including The Gog Farm Shop, whilst the online offering remains popular, especially Isabelle’s chocolate shards, featuring globally-sourced ingredients.
If you fancy savouring exquisitely-crafted Belgian chocolate (or stocking it), Isabelle regularly sells at local markets and fairs, from Gransden Show to Ely Christmas Market. One taste – and you’ll be hooked!