There's a particular sort of madness involved in being a British chocolatier and travelling to Italy to make a British milk chocolate bar. But that's exactly what we did.
And it was one of the most important steps in the Proper Milk journey.
The idea began with a memory
I've spent years working as a pharmacist. But as The Chocolate Man, I've also spent a lot of time asking why so many of us feel that the milk chocolate we remember from childhood has changed.
I didn't want to copy somebody else's bar. I wanted to build our own take on a rich, traditional British milk chocolate: real cocoa butter, British milk and sugar, and no palm oil.
It sounded simple enough. In reality, it took five recipe versions to reach one we were confident enough to take into a commercial pilot.
Five versions, and plenty of feedback
The early experiments weren't perfect. We heard praise for creaminess and the melt, but also criticism about graininess, texture and the snap. That's why we kept working on it rather than pretending our first attempt was a masterpiece.
Small-batch recipe testing teaches you a great deal. But making chocolate on commercial equipment is another level of learning.
Why Italy?
We connected with a chocolate-making team in Italy who were willing to give a small independent business a chance. That's worth emphasising. When you're building something with limited resources, people who answer your messages and help you move forward can make an enormous difference.
Working with the team, including Paola and Valentina, let us explore the recipe on equipment that could move Proper Milk beyond our little experiments.
Then the practical lessons began
Anyone who makes chocolate knows that a recipe is only part of the process. Refining, handling, tempering, moulding and cooling all influence the final result.
We had to fine-tune heating and cooling temperatures to get the bars to set and release the way we wanted. Things didn't all run perfectly, and the early pilot yield didn't match the simple theoretical maths.
That's the reality of moving towards manufacturing. Not a glossy launch video where every bar magically comes out perfect: actual people making adjustments, rejecting imperfect pieces and finding a process that works.
And yes, we hand-wrapped bars
Some of the first Proper Milk pilot bars were hand-wrapped by Paola and me. They're a reminder of how much care goes into the beginning of a product, long before customers see it on a shelf.
Our first pilot format was a limited 30g bar. We're working towards the full-sized 110g Proper Milk, with production plans and final presentation evolving as we learn.
What happened next?
We came home with valuable lessons, a clearer understanding of the production process and a lot of gratitude for the people who helped us. It still feels slightly surreal to have gone from pharmacy work and kitchen experiments to getting our own chocolate off a commercial production line.
This isn't the end of the story. The mould design, packaging, full-sized bars and new variations are all part of what comes next.
And to Paola, Valentina, the Italian team and everyone who supported us: thank you. Building Proper Milk is taking more people than I ever imagined.
Britain deserves proper milk chocolate again. We're doing our best to make one worth remembering.
