The Chocolate Flying Scotsman
For the Royal opening of the Borders Railway in 2015, Scottish Borders Council asked Cocoa Black to create something that would capture public attention. Ruth’s answer was the Flying Scotsman, recreated entirely in chocolate at 1:17 scale. More than 75kg of chocolate and over 50 chocolate-making techniques went into the finished piece. It travelled to Edinburgh Waverley for the opening of the railway by Her Majesty The Queen, on the day she became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Golden Ticket Campaign
To mark the opening of the Borders Railway, Cocoa Black created a commemorative chocolate bar for every schoolchild in the Scottish Borders, more than 25,000 in total. One Golden Ticket was hidden in each of the 73 participating schools, with the winners earning a place on the railway’s inaugural journey.
Chatsworth House Showpiece
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire commissioned Cocoa Black to interpret the story of Boney, the Blenheim Spaniel who belonged to the 6th Duke. Ruth heard Boney’s story directly from them and worked with archive material to develop the piece. The finished work weighed 30kg, was made entirely from chocolate in Peebles, then transported to Chatsworth and assembled in the Great Dining Room, where it remained on public display for The Dog: A Celebration at Chatsworth. The commission was also featured on Channel 4’s Extreme Chocolate Makers, broadcast on Easter Sunday.
Ardbeg Chocolate & Whisky Pairing
LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) approached Cocoa Black to develop chocolates specifically to pair with Ardbeg Uigeadail whisky. Ruth mapped the whisky against seven chocolate flavour profiles before developing three pairings: a Peru 65% dark ganache with whisky-soaked raisin, a Cuba 70% dark whisky truffle, and a Ghana 41% milk chocolate whisky caramel. All three were selected for Ardbeg-run whisky tastings.
Innis & Gunn Chocolate Barrel
For the opening of its Edinburgh Taproom, Innis & Gunn commissioned Cocoa Black to create something inspired by the whisky barrels used to mature its Original beer. The result was a full-size chocolate beer barrel, complete with chocolate bottles carrying edible Innis & Gunn transfers and filled with beer caramel chocolates developed using Innis & Gunn beer. At the opening, they took a mallet to it. Then everyone ate it. The commission was also featured on Channel 4’s Extreme Chocolate Makers.
Bentley Centenary Chocolates
For Bentley’s centenary in 2019, Cocoa Black produced 250 boxed-chocolate gifts and 500 branded chocolate bars, working with Bentley’s centenary artwork and brand guidelines to create the presentation. All 750 pieces were produced, packed and finished by Cocoa Black in Peebles before being delivered to Bentley.
Standard Life Investments Corporate Gifting
Standard Life Investments commissioned Cocoa Black to create Christmas gift boxes for its institutional investors across Europe. The initial order of 1,000 boxes increased to 1,200 after directors saw the finished gifts. Cocoa Black handled the complete fulfillment, from producing the chocolates and assembling the boxes to individually packing and posting each gift directly to its recipient. Standard Life Investments returned the following year with a broader commission for chocolate hampers.
What do you have in mind?
From one-off showpieces to corporate gifting, every commission starts with a conversation.