Sweet memories of chocolate industry being brought back to life with festival

Whether a chocoholic’s preference is for Kit Kats, Aeros, All Gold selection boxes or the iconic Chocolate Orange, all the products have at one stage rolled off the city’s production lines.

And York is celebrating its long association with the confectionery industry with its first ever chocolate festival throughout the Easter weekend. Thousands of visitors are being given the chance to sample some of the finest wares produced by artisan chocolatiers during the four-day festival, which comes to an end today.

A specialist market is also being staged to showcase chocolate makers’ creations along with tastings, workshops and specialist insights into the history, technology and product development of confectionery in York.

The festival is the latest addition to York’s chocolate heritage after many feared the city’s long association with the sweets trade was in steep decline. Terry’s confirmed the closure of its factory in 2005 with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

Nestle, which took over Rowntree’s in the 1980s, then revealed in 2006 it was shedding 645 jobs as production was moved abroad.

But Nestle has since re-affirmed its commitment to York by investing more than £30m in its Haxby Road site and the overall industry still supports 2,000 jobs in the local area. The Nestle factory remains a major employer and there has been a growth in the number of independent chocolate makers as well. The Nestle production lines continue to create a million Kit Kats each day and the factory still creates a distinctive smell of chocolate which lingers over the city on roasting days.

A new £2m tourist attraction focused on York’s 150-year confectionery history opened on March 31 in King’s Square at the end of the famous Shambles. The attraction, called Chocolate – York’s Sweet Story, provides an interactive experience for visitors to sample products while learning more about the confectionery trade.

The project is being overseen by the York-based firm, Continuum, which is responsible for other attractions including the Canterbury Tales in Canterbury and the Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh. An attraction dedicated to the confectionery industry had long been mooted in York, with the company first holding talks about the possibility 25 years ago.

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