About Us
To understand the history of Cocoa Black and the deep passion for chocolate which drives our company, we must first take you back 25 years to the Dark Continent - Africa. In 1985 our founder, Ruth Hinks began what was to become a lifelong love affair with chocolate. Aged 13, she started making and selling handmade chocolates from her father’s dental practice in South Africa. Over the past two decades her hobby has developed into a career that has spanned the globe and won her many awards.
In 1994, Ruth was named Australian Pastry Chef of the Year. She was invited to join the Australian Culinary Team and went on to win medals at the 2000 and 2004 Culinary Olympics in Germany. Before launching Cocoa Black, Ruth held Head Pastry Chef positions at numerous 5-star hotels including the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh. In 2003 Ruth met her future husband David who was working on secondment with KPMG in Sydney. They married in 2005 and returned to Peebles in the UK with their sights set on launching a business. With their diverse but complimentary backgrounds, Cocoa Black was all but inevitable.
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