The Chocolate Man Podcast: Behind the Bar

Chocolate, business, nostalgia and the stories behind the bar.

Join Adam Sulayman, pharmacist turned chocolatier and the man behind Salahuddin Dates, for honest conversations about chocolate, ingredients, innovation and the realities of building a new British chocolate company.

Expect forgotten favourites, taste tests, cocoa origins, ethical sourcing, new product ideas, business highs and lows, fascinating guests and plenty of proper chocolate talk.

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Latest episode

Episode 1: Whatever Happened to Proper Chocolate?

What happened to the chocolate we grew up loving? In the first episode, Adam explores chocolate nostalgia, his journey from pharmacist to chocolatier, the history behind some of our favourite chocolates, ethical sourcing, cocoa farming and the mission to create the next generation of proper chocolate memories.

Watch Episode 1 on YouTube →

What you will hear

  • What happened to familiar British chocolate and whether proper flavour can be brought back
  • Single-origin cocoa, farming communities and the people behind the beans
  • Chocolate history, forgotten favourites and classic products worth reviving
  • Ingredient deep dives, tastings and behind-the-scenes product development
  • The honest highs, lows and lessons of building Salahuddin Dates
  • Conversations with chocolatiers, cocoa farmers, historians, former confectionery workers, founders and fascinating guests

Meet The Chocolate Man

Adam spent nearly two decades working in healthcare before turning his lifelong love of chocolate, food and innovation into a business. Inspired by memories of his grandad, family gatherings and chocolate being shared around, he set out to make better-quality dates more accessible and help bring back the flavour, generosity and excitement of proper chocolate.

The podcast goes behind the polished packaging. It shares the experiments, mistakes, breakthroughs, unusual ideas and difficult decisions involved in trying to build an ethical, independent British chocolate company.

Have a story worth sharing?

We are looking for chocolatiers, cocoa farmers, food founders, historians, former confectionery workers, retailers, inventors and people with genuinely fascinating stories. You do not need to be famous. You do need to have something interesting, useful or unexpected to bring to the conversation.

Enquire about joining the podcast →

Taste what we are talking about

The podcast is where we discuss the ideas. These collections are where you can taste them.

Follow the show on your preferred platform so you do not miss the next conversation behind the bar.