PURE IMAGINATION
When Melanie Neil left the military after twelve years of service and several operational tours, she swapped life as an army medic for the wonderful world of artisan chocolate, launching her own Helensburgh-based business CocoaMo, finds Rosie Morton
Melanie Neil left behind her military career to become Helensburgh's own Willy Wonka Blair
Abalanced lockdown diet means having a chocolate in both hands, and thankfully no further excuses – nor Golden Tickets – are required to explore the country’s talented cocoa alchemists.
For Melanie Neil, an artisan chocolatier based in Helensburgh who launched her own business CocoaMo in 2014, the world of bean to bar creations is a truly mesmerising one. Inheriting a sweet tooth from her mother, Mo, the passion for chocolate started early.
‘My mother was an avid baker,’ begins Melanie. ‘The house was full of cookbooks. We used to do a lot of my grandmother’s recipes. I never got to meet my grandmother so my way of connecting with her was by listening to my mum talking about her as we were baking together.’
With the firm belief that chocolate evokes happy memories, should be savoured, and that it could ‘leave a person never wanting it to end’, Melanie’s mother inspired the very ethos of CocoaMo. ‘We would watch a family movie and there would always be a little bit of chocolate that my mum had found in a boutique store. It was guarded with reverence.’
Becoming Helensburgh’s very own Vianne Rocher was not, however, a path Melanie had envisaged as a youngster. Joining the military in 1996 at the tender age of 21, she worked for twelve years as an army medic in war zones in Kuwait, Iraq and Bosnia.
Going on to complete university degrees in anaesthetic sciences, biology and chemistry, as well as a PhD and working in the NHS’ neonatal units in Glasgow, Melanie decided she wanted a fresh start and trained with former UK world chocolate master Ruth Hinks at her Cocoa Black Chocolate & Pastry School in Peebles.
‘I just thought, “There has to be more to chocolate than a Twirl on a supermarket shelf; there must be more to this ingredient”,’ says Melanie, explaining her dramatic career shift. ‘That’s just my nature. I decided I wanted to do this properly, and so I needed to get some form of recognised training.’
Learning everything there is to know about cacao, Melanie tested her newfound skills on a panel of six, and while this chocolate-obsessed Scottish Field writer might feel qualified to carry out such rigorous tests, Melanie has exacting standards. ‘I’m always wanting to better myself. I suppose there is a bit of a military ethos in that. I’m my own worst critic.’
Specialising in limited edition chocolates, Melanie sources her cacao from small, ethical plantations in the likes of Peru, Madagascar, Chile and Brazil, looking for the highest degree of transparency and provenance. The rest of her ingredients? They come from her very own doorstep. Beautiful Scottish produce like raspberries, gooseberries, bay, thyme and oregano grow in abundance in her own kitchen herb and flower garden, and she forages along the coastline for any extras.
‘I forage for elderberries, elderflowers, wild pears, wild roses, brambles, and any kind of wild herbs like meadowsweets. Just along the coastline there’s a place called Ardmore Point and it’s quite rich in wild produce.’
The south west landscape not only provides Melanie with boundless fresh ingredients, but also with new ideas for her mouth-watering sweet treats. ‘I was out on a walk and I saw brambles and wild roses growing together,’ says Melanie.
“There would always be a little bit of chocolate that my mum had found in a boutique store
‘It reminded me of a quote from Nigel Slater: “What grows together, goes together”. So I wrapped a bramble in a rose petal and ate it, and the flavour was absolutely amazing.’
Adding in some meadowsweet for additional earthiness, Mother Nature had gifted Melanie a new flavour combination. Using local suppliers where she can, Melanie also sources honey from an apiary across the peninsula, and apples from a nearby producer.
From summer collections inspired by the garden – using ‘honey from the apiary, crushed thyme under foot on an Italian path, and dewy peppermint that was found first thing in the morning’ as her starting point – to limited edition mango bon bons, and Scottish raspberry and wild rose chocolates with Bangladeshi teatulia tea (as an ode to Queen Victoria’s introduction to mangoes by the Munshi), Melanie’s creations are as delectable as they are inspired.
‘I think I’ll be doing this when I’m 70,’ she laughs. ‘I’ll not be going for another career change.’ As they say, a little of what you fancy does you good, and if that means a dose of CocoaMo’s chocolates to lift the spirits, I say bring it on.
Visit Melanie’s website www.cocoamochocolates.co.uk or follow her Instagram page @cocoamo_chocolates to find out more.