Monday, 16 September 2019

Our Choc-tastic Visit to The Kandy Factory

Our chocolatey dreams came true a few weeks ago! During the summer holidays, we were lucky enough to be invited along to experience a chocolate making workshop at The Kandy Factory in Burton-on-Trent.



Situated upstairs in Burton's Victorian Market Hall, is an open-plan space where the magic is created! We were greeted on arrival by friendly staff and the children were kitted out in hair nets and aprons.

Look how clean they were at the start!
After choosing the creations they wanted to make from the display cases, the kids were given all the moulds they would need. My son chose to copy the beach scene, and my daughter decided upon a teddy bear world! They were each given a chocolate bar mould too.

A few minutes later, the children were brought 2 warm, melted bowls of milk chocolate and a little cupcake case full of decorations. They were allowed to have a little taste of the chocolate before spooning it into the chocolate bar mould, and personalising it with small sweets, chocolate buttons, cereals and sprinkles.


There may have been a bit of "double dipping" going on here!!
The next job was to fill their silicone moulds, which would make the solid chocolate pieces for their chocolate scenes. Little sachets of white chocolate were melted, and using them like miniature piping bags, the kids were able to add some details to their designs!

Filling the moulds was lots of messy fun!
Next, we had to make the rice-crispy base for the beach and teddy bear world! This was lots of fun - especially trying to add all the cereal to the chocolate! I'm glad I didn't have to clear up the rice puff chaos that followed!

We found rice puffs everywhere!
My son used some blue icing for the sea, and crushed rice-crispies for the sand. My daughter put some marshmallow "clouds" on hers, ready for her chocolate teddy bears to sit on. The children were shown to the magical cooling house, where their creations would go to set. They loved the enchanted little house decorated with lights and ribbons!

The children were excited to take their creations to the magic cooling house!
Now it was time to for the chocolate-covered duo to have a quick hose down, then choose a wrapper to colour in for the chocolate bars they had made, and a paper bag to put it in. I also got a lovely pot of tea and the children were given some squash too.

Chocolate everywhere!
There were lots of designs to choose from.
To keep your little ones occupied while you wait, you can take part in a little trail that is set up around the mezzanine floor. The cardboard cupcakes are a little tired and could do with a bit of a revamp (including making sure the answers on the cupcakes matched up with the number on the sheet!) and the photocopy of the questions was faded so very hard to read - but the children enjoyed it all the same and loved receiving a lollypop as a prize at the end!

The children worked together to find answers around The Kandy Factory.
Finally, it was time to go and get our sweet treats from the little magic house and assemble all the bits together! The chocolate came out of the moulds without any issues, and we "glued" them into place with a bit more melted chocolate! A few sweets and a fondant shark fin later and their chocolate masterpieces were complete!

Chocolate beach heaven!
We went to the wrapping station where the chocolate bars were wrapped in the wrappers they had coloured in earlier, and the other creations were tied up in cellophane. The children loved how their finished products looked! They also couldn't wait to get them home for the official taste testing!

All wrapped up and ready to go!
Our session lasted about 2 hours, and we were not rushed through any part of the process which was great. The kids really got to take their time and enjoy every minute of their choc-tastic chocolate making experience! Just bear in mind that the car park right outside the Market Hall is only short stay so you may wish to park in one of the other nearby long stay carparks. We were very lucky to avoid getting a ticket!! Ooops!

Showing off their goodies!
During our visit, we saw a unicorn party in full swing! It looked like a lot of unicorn-themed fun. The Kandy Factory offer a range of themed parties and workshops, including their general chocolate making experiences. There are also seasonal events and some pop-up shop style events that take place outside of the shop. I would advise that you always book online to secure your slot to avoid any disappointment, as sometimes the main shop may be closed due to staff running off-site events. For full up-to-date details, prices and to book your experience, please visit the website.

We really did have a choco-riffic time (sorry - had to be done!) at The Kandy Factory! The staff were friendly and helpful and the children enjoyed having full creative control! Almost 2 and a half weeks later, we still have a fridge full of chocolate to indulge in too! So if you fancy a few hours out with a bit of a difference, check out what The Kandy Factory has to offer. Why not show them some love and follow them over on Facebook and Instagram too.


Have you ever been on a similar chocolatey day out? Or visited an actual working chocolate factory? We're always on the look out for great places to visit, so why not let us know in the comments below!

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*** We were gifted our chocolate making experiences in return for this post. All opinions are my own, unless otherwise stated. ***

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