Seasoned Autumn/Winter 2019

Photo credit: Maxine Kirsty Sapsford
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Photo credit: Olympia
If you love chocolate, you’ve probably heard all about chocolatier, Paul A Young, already. We
were delighted to welcome Paul to the Cornish Sea Salt club when he made the decision to
move to us as his salt supplier, for the first time in 13 years. Based in Soho, he’s creating some of
the most exciting flavour combinations we’ve ever come across. Paul’s Sea salted caramels are
some of the most awarded in the world.
What makes your chocolate so good? Our methods
result in what I believe to be a better chocolate. We only use
natural ingredients and chocolate from the very best
producers. We have no artificial flavourings, stabilisers or
preservatives so our chocolates need eating quickly when
fresh. We create every product by hand from the beginning,
so the filling, the shell, the coating and decoration. Really, it’s
down to the ingredients; if the chocolate doesn’t taste well
balanced and rounded then there is no way of improving this.
Chip Shop Caramel, Rosemary and Olive Oil Gianduja,
Sourdough, Buttermilk and Sea Salt: you’ve got some
of the most unusual flavour combinations we’ve ever
heard of. How do you come up with these unique
flavour s? Inspiration comes from everywhere… from an
ingredient, a smell, a feeling or from taking time to play with
the chocolate and ingredients. We then find different types
of chocolate to pair with the ingredient or vice versa and
begin to melt and blend the chocolate with the ingredients to
see how they perform… will they become a caramel, a ganache
or a bar of chocolate? It’s a process that can take from a few
hours to a few weeks. We don’t know how long it will take
until we begin the process. We then create samples of the
finished chocolates and taste them over a one to two month
period to confirm their shelf life and flavour. Decoration and
shape are very important so this happens once we have the
flavour and recipe finished. It’s then time to launch the
products into our shops and on social media.
What has been your greatest triumph and disaster?
Paul first created his sea salted caramel in 2004 when adding
salt into caramel was very new and experimental. It’s still our
biggest selling chocolate.
My biggest disaster was when I created a Stilton truffle in
2006 and they fermented and burst open overnight… the
addition of a generous amount of port solved this problem.
In your opinion, what is so special about sweet and
salty flavours together with chocolate? Adding salt
into chocolate has become so mainstream now, but it’s all
about getting that balance right. When you do, the salt brings
the chocolate alive and can enhance the flavours and complex
notes within it. It’s not easy to get right, but when you do, we
can’t get enough of it. I think it is something very human,
opposites attract and they can be balanced so well that we get
addicted to it.
How would you describe the flavour of Cornish Sea
Salt and why do you choose to use it in your
chocolates? The flavour of Cornish Sea Salt is sweet and
one that develops without any bitterness or harsh aftertaste.
I’ve chosen to use it because I wanted a salt producer that
uses a benign process, and from a company that respects the
environment and the impact it has. The flavour is of course
important and the aftertaste has to balance well with our
different varieties of chocolate. Cornish Sea Salt
complements the chocolate and doesn’t drown out any of the
complex flavours. It’s the best sea salt I’ve used and I’ve tried
them all I think, and only choose to use something that I can
use across many different applications and flavour profiles of
chocolate.
What’s next for Paul A Young? We are now planning
2020 products and beginning to reduce our plastic packaging
into fully-eco packaging. I’m sure there will be lots of news
but this often comes at short or no notice and we do love a
surprise.
More recipes / cornishseasalt.co.uk/recipes
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