He’s had a globetrotting career involving Michelin restaurants, private jets and Formula 1 but for Robert Kingdon, the Devon-born founder of a luxury artisan chocolatier in London, ‘Devon rocks’, as he tells Catherine Courtenay
Tell us about your early life in Devon.
Devon life was for the most part great. I was born in North Devon and lived there until I was 20 or 21. I went to school there, I got my first job there (The Thatch, Croyde), I’m still friends with some of those guys – it's such a great spot. I grew up in Braunton not far from the coast. As children we were encouraged to play in the woods, build things, go surfing and enjoy the outside world. Each weekend would usually have an activity, or a visit to the beach, or motorbike racing. These are some great memories, ones that I hold dear. Our parents were hardworking and always putting in the hours, but there was always some sort of adventure at the weekend. Mobile phones and ipads were not really a staple feature like they are now, and I’m grateful for that.
I learnt the fundamentals at a very young age and my training started at North Devon College. Since then I have learnt a lot along the way, from many great chefs, all of whom are part of our success and continued inspiration. My training is ongoing and always will be. I’ve invested a lot into ensuring my personal development continues, not only for myself but also for my team. This commitment enables us to keep the highest quality.
What made you want to be a chef?
I cooked a great deal with my mother when I was younger, so I believe that initially kick-started it. She loves to bake and cook for the family and her friends. She still does - I'm often sent homemade jams and veg boxes all grown in her garden. A summer job at a local pub as a teen gave me insight into the kitchen camaraderie and the sound of a commercial kitchen. I'm still good friends with those guys now.
I’m not sure it was a culinary highlight, but cooking a chicken and cheese toastie for Will Smith is up there, as was making smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels in a huge storm in Montreal - the smoked salmon there is out of this world.
Another was flying in a private jet with the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild to visit a chocolate factory in Turin for the day. That was pretty cool - there was a time in the factory where we tasted the exact moment fresh chocolate, sugar and hazelnuts are combined to make Gianduiotto. The flavour was incredible- I can never forget that taste, it was mind blowing.
What made you want to specialise in chocolate?
I visited my first artisan chocolate shop in Montreal. I purchased a few bars of different origins and I was blown away by the quality and the unique flavour profiles in each bar. Engaging with people about chocolate more often or not tends to be a great conversation; it's a product we can all connect with emotionally and through memory, usually from our childhood experiences. It also brings happiness to most of us - what’s not to love about that?
Global travel has definitely influenced my vision for flavour. I like to provide a story or a journey for customers, but also help them discover something unique, something to make them engage with the flavour, and another culture. But it can also come from other culinary or design experiences. We now use a Scottish salt across all our recipes - the production methods and the flavour it provides is genuinely impeccable. It’s made using an ancient tradition and equipment - only one of which exists in the world!
What has been the most challenging chocolate to make?
It's always a challenge to try and find a savoury element to work with, that you can put into a confection, and one that will sell. Sumac is a fab flavour that works great with chocolate. The majority of people wouldn’t have heard of it, and even less will give it a go, so the challenge here is trying to hit that sweet spot of being unique, educational, and hopefully inspiring, whilst trying to avoid creating a weird and ‘no thank you’ moment. We had an order of 24k gold bonbons to create for a private client in a very short amount of time. Getting these perfect was a challenge and very time consuming, so I think the challenge can also be in the form of time as you have to be patient with chocolate.
Plenty, too many to list! But with each mistake we learn and understand something new. We shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. We made some scotch bonnet chocolate in our first few months… the ratios were off and it wasn’t safe to release to a wider audience!
There are increasing pressures on cocoa growers due to climate change and other factors. How do you feel about this?
The chocolate world is certainly going through it at the moment. Price increases are just unfathomable, and it’s very much out of our hands. This year alone I have seen countless artisans close up shop, people who are very talented, and have been in the game for a long time - some of them inspired me to start up.
If there is ever a time to support your local independent chocolate shops, now is the time. The let up hasn’t stopped - Covid, energy prices, and now cocoa. Some distributors are placing 30 per cent plus on couverture, and that product would have been harvested well over 12 months ago.
The climate is certainly a contributing factor to the prices, but also the demand from the farming community at source - they simply are not getting paid enough. This ultimately leads to a less attractive opportunity for younger farmers, and as a result we are seeing cocoa plantations changing crops, resulting in less crop yield year on year, impacting prices further.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see significant price increases over the coming months on all cocoa products, in larger retailers and artisan shops.
Do you come back to Devon often?
I’m in London with my partner, but we get back as often as we can. I love it. Much of my family is still there, and so we try to have summer garden parties, or a good family get-together when possible, Christmas can be wild sometimes. I have a big family. I have five brothers and two sisters. We all live far apart, in Dubai, Australia, Cornwall, Devon, Scilly Isles, and London, so when we are all finally in the same country at any one moment, we make the special effort to use that quality time together.
Nature, and the quiet. The ocean, the hills, the woodlands, rivers, the wildlife... Being right on the coast the air quality is something else. It's light, refreshing and purifying.
The depth of view - everything is very close in London with cars, buildings, the underground, our phones and computers. It can be overwhelming at times.
Spending a good few days on the coast can be great to help clear the mind - I tend to visit home before our busy seasons, just for a reset. Oh! and I miss mother’s cooking, it's great, always, and I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I didn’t say so!
What is the best thing about your work now?
We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes of our little Wimbledon chocolaterie, to achieve our goal of opening up our second site in central London. We’ll be just off Oxford Circus, and have found a unique, award-winning building (for architecture and design) that will forge a synergy with our products. Hidden under the shop will be a beautiful demonstration kitchen where we will host chocolate-making classes for novices, but also for professionals too. There will also be wine pairing events and corporate availability for team building days.
What was your favourite chocolate when you were a boy?
Our mother used to make this gluten-free chocolate cake, back when the only gluten-free flour you could get was through a pharmacy. She used to make a ganache frosting with melted chocolate bars. We all loved it, but I never saw the chocolate that went into it! When pocket money day came around – it's not so much of a chocolate, but Riesens were great, a really rich taste - probably a bit weird for a 12-year-old kid to buy thinking about it...
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