Couverture & Co Red Hill

Sea change, tree change or sweet(s) change?  How about chucking in your job and starting over as a chocolatier?  And how about starting it in hot, humid Brisbane- a bold step you might say.
Jessica from Couverture & Co in Red Hill was woman enough to do just that.  Throwing off the shackles of her regular job, she invested herself in a new life and opened up her chocolate shop in a cute little store in Red Hill.  I asked her how all this came about and here is what she said:

What was your previous working life before becoming a chocolatier?

Previous to working as a chocolatier I worked as a journalist in Oman. I wrote for a number of publications, but my main area of focus was the oil and gas industry – quite the opposite to the chocolate industry!

Was there a pivotal event that made you decide to change/become one?

There was no light bulb moment that made me decide to switch vocations. If you were to ask my friends and family, I think they would say that I’ve always had a bit of a preoccupation with cooking, so it came as no surprise to them when I made the change. From the get go I was in the kitchen, I loved to watch my parents cook and to be involved in the process.

How did you go about becoming one?

I approached my favourite chocolatier in Brisbane –Bittersweet. I used to visit their previous store called Hot Chocolate when they were located on Latrobe Terrace, Paddington. After gaining some work experience I was fortunate to be offered a job. For anyone interested in the industry Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School in Melbourne offer some great courses. 

Is it as satisfying as you hoped?  (you don’t have to answer that oneJ) 

It definitely is, however I don’t think I was prepared for how all-consuming running a small business is.

Is it difficult in this brissie climate to make chocolates?  What with the humidity and heat...

It can be very trying at times to make chocolates in Brisbane’s humid and hot climate. There have been a number of days when I’ve had to throw in the towel because of it. When the temperature gets to a certain point and the humidity is high the tempered chocolate will not set hard and the chocolate coating on the exterior of the truffle can turn dull or whitish instead of glossy.

Have you travelled to suss out other chocolatiers?

Whenever I travel I always have a chocolate shop itinerary! However, I haven’t travelled for the soul purpose of visiting chocolatiers. I would love to do a chocolate and champagne trip!

Did you find any that were particularly brilliant/inspiring?

On my first trip to Paris, within hours of getting off the plane, I stumbled across a small old fashioned chocolatier. It was my first Parisian chocolate experience, and I think I fell in love a little. 

As for inspiration, there are so many talented chocolatiers and pastry chefs out there. If you ever get a chance to watch the World Chocolate Masters I highly recommend it. It’s a great insight into the processes involved in working with chocolate. The creations the competitors come up with are amazing.

Your signature chocolate/s?

I’m still working on that one! I hope to add more chocolates to the range throughout the year. I’ve already received quite a few requests from customers for particular flavours.

I’ll be in the kitchen over the next few days experimenting with one or two new flavours for Valentine’s Day, so keep a look out in the coming weeks.

cute entrance!

delish chocs

Jessica with some of her lovely chocs

yum

don't these look gorgeous- good enough to eat!

Couverture & Co can be found at 19A Enoggera Tce Red Hill 4059
Ph- 07 3367 3000