Granny Shaw’s Fudge offers delicious gift boxes of luxury chocolates

Delicious gift boxes of luxury chocolates for Valentine’s Day have been handcrafted by Glen Houston and his team at Granny Shaw’s Fudge in Ballymena.

The attractive gift boxes from the artisan confectionery business are the latest in an ongoing series of milk chocolate coated products from the enterprise run by Glen and wife Rhonda at their production plant in Broughshane, near Ballymena.

They follow the recent introduction of rich Belgian chocolate-dipped toffees in intriguing flavours such as Smoky Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Irish Sea Salt and Creamy Irish Stout.

“The new chocolate ranges follow a five-figure investment in a new production system that is enabling us to extend our confectionery portfolio,” explains Glen, who also led the crafting of a range of authentic Victorian-style sweets. “Our use of other local ingredients such as whiskey, stout and sea salt also shows our commitment to work with as many other Northern Ireland food and drink producers as practicable,” adds Glen.

Development of the Valentine’s gift box involved sending a senior staff member to learn more about gourmet chocolates with famed chocolatier Andrew Thwaite at his culinary school, the Yorkshire Academy of Chocolate and Patisserie, in York.

Thwaite has over 25 years of experience in both artisan and industrial chocolate manufacture.

Expertise gained at the academy in York is reflected in the gift boxes for Valentine’s which includes handmade bonbons, truffles and heart shaped treats from the finest Belgian chocolate sourced directly from a specialist producer. As a result of the knowledge gained of gourmet chocolates, the company is planning to extend its range of luxury gift boxes beyond Valentine’s.

“The luxury chocolates for a special occasion are an exciting development for us,” continues Glen. “We have other innovative products in mind including premium chocolate dipped marshmallows and caramel sauce."

The small business is now moving into other toffees and other treats for sweet lovers based on its initial success in making luxury fudge for sale in local food markets in particular. The company has also supplied gift products to hotels and other corporate bodies in Northern Ireland.

The company’s unique identity and successful fudge recipe came from Rhonda’s grandmother.

“We all liked the fudge and were also influenced to start Granny Shaw’s by the remarkable growth in artisan foods here over the past decade,” Glen explains. “The new confectionery will be handmade using the best ingredients as is the case with all our fudge. In addition to growing sales here, we also receive orders for varieties of our fudge regularly from international customers."

The toffee products followed a £50,000 investment by the small company in specialist equipment from a manufacturer in Chicago that has enabled it to diversify its portfolio including the development of Victorian-style toffees and other historic sweets. Traditional Victorian sweets from the enterprise included marzipan, liquorice allsorts, jelly babies, brandy balls, clove rock, pear drops, coconut ice, marshmallows, bonbons, chocolate limes, toffee or wine gums.

The launch of Victorian toffees was the outcome of recipes found by Glen in the archives.

“We subsequently experimented with some of the recipes and produced small batch samples of the sweets for family and friends to try. Positive reactions to the samples encouraged us to explore how we could produce them for both local and export markets. We knew we would have to invest in state-of-the-art machinery for the scale of growth we hoped to achieve,” he adds.

Extensive research on the internet led him to link up with an experienced manufacturer in the US. Glen subsequently flew to Chicago to discuss business with the US manufacturer.

“The research pinpointed the US business making the equipment which would enable us to produce a wide range of premium confectionery quickly and cost-effectively and in attractive packaging,” explains Glen, an accomplished flautist with a successful background in entertainment management.

Granny Shaw’s has also been boosted by a UK Great Taste Award for its handmade, hand-cut kettle-churned soft fudge and traditional tablet fudge. It has developed a broad range of fudge flavours including salted caramel, chocolate, raspberry ripple and even bubblegum for children in a variety of bag sizes.

The Granny Shaw’s factory has also been developed with tourists and other visitors in mind. The couple saw the potential of fudge production when the factory was at Glenarm Estate, a successful magnet for visitors especially at hugely popular events such as the Dalriada Festival. They believe that a visitor centre at the factory could become a popular attraction for people interested in fudge and other confectionery from another era.