Marion Sauvebois meets an enterprising teenager who is making a living out of her passion for chocolate

Questions about future career plans are inevitably met with blank stares or plain fear by the average teenager – but not Abbie Prentice.

At the age of 17, she knew exactly where she wanted to be and how she intended to get there. She would train as a chocolatier, launch her own business and make a success of it... she told her mother so seven months ago.

Now the owner of Chocolate Comforts at Studley Grange Craft Village in Wroughton, the 18-year-old never allows self-doubt or financial pressures to overwhelm her or get in the way of her dream.

“I phoned my mum last April and I didn’t really mean to talk about it,” said Abbie. “She asked me what the careers advisor had told me that day and I told her I wanted to be my own boss. She asked me ‘what do you love?’. I said chocolate.

“I still don’t think as chocolate as work; it’s my passion. I get so excited about it.”

Her decision made, Abbie completed her A-levels, moved from her father’s home in Kent to Swindon to be with her mum, Jo Constable.

“She told me what she wanted and I was proud of her,” said 43-year-old Jo, of Moredon. “At 17 she knew that’s what she could do. I told her ‘now is the time to do it’. She had nothing to lose financially; she had no dependents to worry about.

“And I’ve not pushed her. She’s done everything on her own. All the recipes are hers. She’s been the one to tell me what to do.”

The venture seemed meant to be as Abbie found out that her parents had set up an endowment policy in her name when she was three years old. They allowed her to cash it in early and invest the funds in her start-up.

The teenager’s appetite for the business grew when her mother began organising chocolate parties.

“I always loved eating chocolate but my mum did chocolate parties when I was 14,” explained Abbie. “She bought moulds and chocolate and demonstrated at people’s homes. She stopped doing it but I didn’t lose interest. “During my A-levels I was getting pushed to go to university but I knew I definitely didn’t want to. I did photography and decided to melt 18 chocolate bars and pour them over my friend’s face to take pictures of it. I know it sounds weird but that’s when I knew.

“I was never a leader or very decisive. But I knew I wanted it.”

The business developed in reverse order – venue first, then training.

With the alarming prospect of spending £12,000 in rent per year on a small shop, Jo ordered a summer house which she nicknamed the chocolate shed as an initial workshop area. Soon however, she came upon the Craft Village.

Step one complete, in September the mother and daughter tackled phase two and enrolled in an intensive four-day chocolatier course in Banbury.

Except for a decorating mishap, which saw Jo’s painstakingly adorned Easter egg turn into an X-rated creation, they left the workshop with a wealth of technical knowledge and newfound business acumen.

“It was a two-day foundation course and two days of creative skills.

“The most important thing we learned was tempering. If the chocolate isn’t tempered properly you won’t get the snap and shininess and it will melt quickly.

“When we started the course, I thought so many things were going to go wrong. It was intimidating. But I loved the creative skills part. I learned everything from the courses.”

Tempering is a process which encourages the cocoa butter in the chocolate to harden into a specific crystalline pattern, which maintains the sheen and texture for a long time.

When chocolate is not tempered, it may not ever set up hard at room temperature and may look dull and blotchy. The texture may also be spongy.

Abbie spent the next three days concocting recipes, marrying flavours and testing unusual and somewhat curious combinations including mango and caramel – now one of her bestsellers.

Chocolate Comforts opened its doors on October 4.

“When we came back I made chocolate non-stop for three days. I already had an idea of flavours. It just comes naturally to me. I looked at the trending flavours on Pinterest. I get so many quirky ideas from it.

“I made chocolate cups and they just worked. I adjusted the recipes, the quantity of flavouring and all the fillings just worked too. I came up with eight different flavours.

“And I’m still constantly looking for ideas.”

The business offers a selection of eight chocolate cups, including apple pie, marc de champagne, coconut and chocolate-orange, and nine types of fudge such as lemon meringue and rum and raisin.

She is currently working on a limited-edition chocolate assortment for the festive season with such flavours as gingerbread, Christmas pudding, Baileys and marshmallow crunch.

Each day has brought its set of challenges and, at times, disappointment. But with mum Jo by her side, whenever she can get away from work at the Craft Village’s Butterfly Cafe, Abbie has grown in confidence and resourcefulness.

And she has had to, with armies of small children taking over her shop at chocolate parties with very specific ideas about what they want.

“Having your own business is stressful sometimes. I rely on my mum for emotional support.

“I’m open every day so it’s intense and I have another job at MacDonald’s part-time, five nights a week. I panic everyday about not getting the money for the rent but I like the freedom.

“If the chocolate is tempered properly and everything works I’m happy. If it doesn’t, it’s a nightmare and, I get down – you want to give people a good product. But it pushes me to get new ideas and do more.

“I feel more confident now. It’s the thought of actually taking money from someone that still makes it scary.”

To book a chocolate party or buy an assortment of fudge, cups or truffles, visit the shop at Studley Grange Craft Village in Wroughton, call 07983 565808, email chocolatecomforts@icloud.com or go to www.chocolate-comforts.com.