Brixton is a place of many surprises and unexpected finds. Few grab people’s attention more than the fact it’s got great connections to the chocolate industry in the UK. Not only is there the Chocolate Museum on Ferndale Road, but Brixton was the inspiration for one of Britain’s most influential chocolatiers, Amelia Rope.
Originally a contestant on Masterchef, Amelia came to chocolate after being an aromatherapist and looking for a way to combine her love of food and fragrance. Her chocolate bars blend oils with cocoa from around the world to create over twenty different combinations in bars and now Easter eggs.
Usually the nomadic type who enjoys travelling the world and moving around, Amelia came to Brixton to live with her brother while she was establishing Amelia Rope Chocolates and stayed for longer than she has ever lived anywhere else, feeling at home in an area filled with such a variety of people and places here. She loved everything from the Country Show to the South American influences in the old Granville Arcade along the way.
The sights and sounds of Brixton inspired her through their diversity, difference and ever evolving feel as she worked on building a business now stocked in Liberty, Whole Foods (the chain, not the one on Atlantic Road) and even Fortnum and Mason. Although Amelia now longer lives in Brixton as she travels so much for work, she still has a connection here through F Monday on Brixton Hill where they are the only place in the UK to serve her chocolate as hot chocolate.
Amelia became friends with Ken Nally and Ciara O’Shea who opened the cafe late last year when they were all living in the same area of Brixton Hill. The relationship was cemented when Ciara was the make up artist on a profile for The Telegraph of Amelia, showing yet again what a small world Brixton can be as its community links help open doors. Ken has developed a special method of steaming the chocolate to prevent the depth of the oils Amelia uses from being lost in the heat.
The quality of these oils and essences are what sets Amelia’s chocolate apart from her competitors, combining flavours such as rose, peppermint, mandarin or lemon with dark, pale milk or white chocolate from places such as Tanzania, Colombia and Ecuador. Her chocolate embraces the values of Fairtrade and using small independent businesses to educate and create opportunities which are principles Brixton taught her. Everything is the finest quality possible.
She thinks Brixton is typified by her use of sea salt as a base note of flavour in her chocolate as it appeals to all palates after surprising them to start with. To show how she is still inspired by the area, Amelia and F Monday are offering Brixton Blog readers the chance to win the opportunity to try hot chocolate at F Monday for two people*. Simply leave a comment below or email competitions@brixtonblog.com by April 8th telling us what chocolate flavour you think best represents Brixton and we’ll choose the one we like best.
*Small print ahoy! One entry per email address. You will be contacted by the email address on your comment. One hot chocolate per person on the same trip to the cafe. The trip must be arranged in advance with F Monday by email or Twitter within 4 weeks of competition closing. The hot chocolate is available with non dairy milks and there is a set choice of flavours.
There are far ,far better chocolatiers in London than Mrs Rope,
Paul Wayne Gregory would also better represent Brixton too being a proper chocolatier and not just another career changer playing at chocolate.
Chilli chocolate because Brixton blows your socks off and our community is hot hot hot!
Brixton would be best represented by a nutmeg chocolate with little bits of crystallised ginger. Flavours used in many parts of the world. Flavours used by many communities in Brixton. Flavours that I love !