Set up in 2010 An Olivia has been a the realisation of a life long dream of becoming my own version of Willy Wonka.
Every Christmas, I would watch the opening movie sequence and all behind the scenes moments of cascading chocolate, sprinkling cocoa, whipping marshmallows and silky fudge and think… how i’d like to visit that factory!
However, as the years went on my dream changed from visiting the factory to running my very own! After graduating from Cathal Brugha Street for Food Quality Assurance I set my sights on realising those dreams.
Thankfully I had a head start having grown up in a family business of Curran Hurling and already dipped a toe into the world of business with my own Young Entrepreneur" venture called “Woody Walkers”, A traditional wooden puppet toy, I created combining my knowledge of woodwork from the family business and my love of crafts. My Woody walkers won me the school and regional finals and made it to the last 10 in the National competition but they weren’t made of chocolate so it was back to the drawing board!
First step was to go and train with some of the World Chocolate Masters from Callebaut. Over the years I found out what the oompa loompas do in the factory by replacing normal holidays with all kinds of professional chocolate, wedding cake, chocolate patisserie, and chocolate show piece courses.
Thankfully, when I first entered the Blas na hÉireann in 2013 it proved that all the hard work, experimentation and chocolatey research was worth it when I took home 4 awards for my creations including being the Supreme Champion for that year’s competition. Since then we have gone from strength to strength all the while enjoying every second of being the Willy Wonka I was born to be!
