Chocolate Bar Making Workshop York

York, Britain's chocolate city

York has been linked to chocolate since the eighteenth century, when grocers on its streets sold cocoa and drinking chocolate. In the nineteenth century two large confectionery companies founded by local Quaker families grew here, and their factories made York one of the great chocolate cities of the world, inventing several of Britain's best-known chocolate treats and employing thousands of people.

That heritage is still everywhere in the city, from old factory buildings to small chocolate makers who keep the craft alive. This workshop lets you be part of that story for an hour. If you are looking for things to do in York with kids, or a different souvenir from your trip, making your own bar here is one of the most enjoyable answers.

The chocolate academy on Castlegate

The class takes place in a small chocolate academy at 10 Castlegate, part of a shop and café where chocolate is made on the premises. Castlegate is a quiet historic street lined with Georgian townhouses, running from the medieval centre towards the castle area, and the academy is a bright, clean workroom with space for each guest at the table.

Your instructor starts with the story of cocoa: the tropical trees where the pods grow, how the beans are fermented, dried and roasted, and how they become the chocolate you know. You then taste white, milk and dark chocolate made on site and notice how sweetness, creaminess and cocoa strength change from one to the next, which helps you choose the base for your bar.

Making your own chocolate bar

The heart of the workshop is making your bar. You learn why chocolate must be tempered, carefully melted, cooled and gently warmed again, so that it sets with a glossy surface and a clean snap. Working with your chosen chocolate, you fill a mould and then add flavours and toppings from a selection of fruit, nuts, crunchy pieces and decorations.

Everyone's bar ends up different, which is half the fun: some guests go for a classic dark bar with sea salt, others for a colourful milk or white chocolate bar packed with treats. While the chocolate sets, the instructor answers questions, and at the end each 200g bar is wrapped for you to take away and enjoy later on your trip.

Castlegate and Clifford's Tower area

The workshop is in one of the most interesting corners of York. A minute away stands Clifford's Tower, the thirteenth-century stone keep of York Castle on its high grassy mound, with views over the city from the top. Next to it, York Castle Museum occupies former prison buildings, and on Castlegate itself Fairfax House is a fine Georgian townhouse of 1762.

The Shambles, the most famous medieval street in York, is about five minutes' walk away, and King's Staith on the River Ouse is just around the corner. That makes the class easy to combine with a walk through the old city, a visit to the castle area or a boat trip, and it is a perfect plan for a rainy day in York.