As a Chocolate Development Manager, she’s responsible for concocting many of the stunning chocolates in the Hotel Chocolat range. Kiri took time out from what is, frankly, the best job in the entire world, to tell us how she approaches giving a chocolatier’s twist to classic British recipes.

But first, how did she earn her ’royal’ title? “Cocktails are all about experimenting with different ingredients and flavour combinations,” she explains. “It’s very similar to developing chocolates in our Inventing Room. I soon became known as the chocolatier who would recreate the latest cocktail trends in chocolate form, hence the nickname!”

Speaking of Queens, the Platinum Jubilee inspires us to consider our own place in UK society. As British cacao growers, our roots are inextricably entwined throughout our range. It’s packed with classics from ol’ Blighty, such British recipes as Strawberries and Cream, Treacle Tart and Eton Mess – quintessential ‘Brit-puds’.

What’s it like for Kiri and her team, turning such classic puddings into chocolates? “It can be one of the hardest things to create in chocolate form, because a dessert can consist of multiple flavours and textures. It’s always a really creative process, which I love!” She’s not alone, either. “We’re obsessed by food here in the Inventing Room and especially love desserts, so it’s always fun to develop them as chocolates. We create the real thing and taste it before creating the chocolate, just to refresh our memories and make sure we deliver the key flavours.”

For non-chocolatiers, it would take more than a simple memory-jogger to reinvent a pudding as a single chocolate. How does Kiri and her team cram the entire flavour profile into a selector-sized chocolate? Equipoise, it transpires.

“It’s all about balance, we focus on the key flavours and textures of the dessert and develop a recipe that works in harmony with our chocolate.”

Balance is one thing, but surely, when everyone knows how a classic recipe should taste, it’s a huge challenge delivering something as satisfying as the people-pleasing original. Much like a band taking on a monster hit, it must be a gamble of sorts. Kiri takes it all in her stride. “Texture is often the biggest challenge when creating a dessert-inspired chocolate, especially cakes. That’s why it’s important to deliver the key flavours successfully. For example, our carrot cake chocolate combines real carrot puree, walnuts, and warming spices; as soon as you taste it you know what it is.” As always, nothing artificial goes into any recipe.

It’s a case of trial and error until the flavour, balance and texture are in perfect harmony – but equally important is teamwork and peer-review. “We always have our fellow chocolatiers taste our work, to make sure we receive a balanced view. It’s so important; when you’ve been working on a recipe for so long, you can become very close to it. We also have many years of experience between us, so trust each other implicitly!”