Continuing on our foodie trail to find some wonderful local products for our guests, I met Barry Colenso, a master chocolatier, at Darley House at the beginning of October. Barry, from nearby Belper, is the “go to” expert on chocolate and was involved with the design of Kate and Will’s chocolate wedding cake in 2011. His chocolate truffles feature in our hamper and he is available to run courses at Darley House. So all you chocolate lovers can plan the perfect weekend fit for a prince or princess!
If you are staying at Darley House you can discuss your specific requirements with Barry who can run anything from 2 hrs to a full day – to include a “jungle to finished product” talk, tasting of single origin chocolates and hands on creating and making for a minimum of 8 people. Find out more about Barry here.
Our next stop was Roper’s Honey in Sutton Scarsdale, to meet Helen and Tim. We had a great explanation of the process of collecting and extracting honey and tasted the honey directly from the comb. This local bee farm started as a hobby in 1957 and now has around 100 colonies of honeybees around Derbyshire cared for by father, son and grandson. There is an observation hive where you can see the bees in action in summer and a Honey Room, where you can see the honey being extracted and a shop – making for a perfect family day out.
Our hamper includes some Ropers Summer and Lime honey and either lip balm or hand cream, made from the beeswax, which are both superbly restorative.
Finally, we went next door to meet Gareth of Spires Brewing Company. With an eclectic and tasty selection of beers and names – from “HOPink Mad” to “Jailbreak” – they live up to their motto “There is a beer for everyone”. Prebook a brewery tour and tasting for up to 14 people at weekends or visit the snug bar, at the brewery (Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings) to discover the perfect beer for you. And if you don’t find one you like, they can brew one specially and label it. Truly inspiring!
There are two bottles in our hamper to try and you can also place an order to arrive in time for your stay. As neighbours, Roper’s Honey and Spire Brewing Co, effectively make a Bee and Beer (B&B) tour, which we would definitely recommend to our guests.
So, our Made in Derbyshire hamper, showcasing some of the wonderful local products and artisans in the area, is now available free, to all Darley House guests on arrival.
Thank you to Amber Valley Wines, Brock & Morten, Spire Brewing Co, Barry Colenso and Roper’s Honey for taking time to show us what they do and let us sample their products.