Unwrapped - chocolatier re-opens after makeover

Chocolate lovers worried about losing their favourite Gloucester Road treats can rest easy – they’re all still there at Ted & Mae’s. It’s a re-branding under new owners Adam Sandy and Nell Joyce of the former Chocolatier Pionka.

Adam and Nell – “Our middle names are Ted and Mae” - took over the shop last summer. But they kept the Pionka name while previous owner Mariusz was tutoring them in the dark and milky arts of chocolate-making. He has since returned to his family in Poland.

Adam says: “We were both out of work and looking to run a business together, and this seemed a good opportunity. For the moment, we’re keeping the offerings the same as before, but we’re planning to introduce new lines as we go on”.

Both Adam and Nell have business backgrounds – Nell in the food industry while Adam was in a management role in construction. The current world-record high price of chocolate hasn’t put them off – nor, it seems, their customers.

Nell says: “It’s been great to see customers returning. People are happy to pay a premium when they know they’re getting quality products”.

Best sellers in the shop remain the Chocolate Corners range – bags of irregular pieces in flavours including orange, raspberry, almond and salted caramel

For now the couple are keeping quiet about any new lines. But Adam says: “We’ve got Valentines and Easter coming up so we’re thinking of something special. We’ll see how it goes then and hopefully get some more ideas.”