Anyone with a sweet tooth should put a visit to Woodbridge on their diary pronto – as the historic market town now boasts two specialist chocolate shops.
Joining long time institution Les Chocolat Belges (a specialist in fine Belgian chocolate) on the Thoroughfare is newcomer Sucoca, opened recently by Suzanne Archer – the pastry chef owner of Christine’s Patisserie.
Sucoca sits right next door to Christine’s in a shop that had become empty in lockdown. So you can pair brunch, lunch or cake at the tearoom (which has a beautiful hidden garden by the way) with a forage through floor-to-ceiling shelves of British and globally-sourced sweets and chocolates – including fresh ganache-filled delights made by Suzanne herself.
“I’ve done chocolate work for a while,” says the baker, who’s café specialities include billowing scones, coconut chia brownies and salted caramel flapjacks.
“I used to sell my chocolates at fairs and when, during the first lockdown, the shop next door closed, the landlord approached me and asked if I wanted after it was renovated.
“It was always going to be an expansion of what we do in the café. Alongside chocolates it gives us an opportunity to package up some of the things we make in our kitchens, like our tahini cookies.”
The new chocolate shop is jam-packed with brands and makers you’re unlikely to encounter elsewhere locally, or in the supermarket, and especially has several brands geared towards vegans and vegetarians. This isn’t necessarily by design – Suzanne has largely chosen them because she thinks they’re delicious.
“We’ve got TKK Confectionary. I’ve known them for years from when I was a chef in London. They make amazing gummies that are so good and they’re a strong vegan brand. There’s Hipp chocolate which is made with oat milk and is very creamy.
“And I like working with The Raw Chocolate Company. Again, they’re vegan but its’s the quality that’s amazing. I love them. I also love Play In Choc. They make these classic Kinder style eggs but they have a little cardboard toy inside!”
Single estate, single origin chocolate lines one wall. And there’s liquorice. A lot of liquorice.
But you should also make a beeline for the counter, where you can try for yourself Suzanne’s very own chocolates – largely ganaches and all made with natural ingredients. “We don’t use cream apart from in the salted caramels,” Suzanne says. “I make some water ganaches, some fruit ganaches, and tea and alcohol ganaches. I'm hoping to expand the range once the café's been fully open a bit longer.
“At the moment the flavours are cappuccino, salted caramel, passionfruit, hazelnut praline, gin and tonic, dark and stormy (which is rum and ginger), Port, rose and pistachio, chai tea, and prosecco. I’m making a salted coconut caramel as well – that's really good. It’s quite dark with a slight bitterness from the coconut sugar.
“It’s going well so far. People are coming back, so we’re already getting a lot of repeat custom. And we’re looking forward to getting a vegan Mr Whippy machine in here which I think is nicer than the non-vegan whippy.”
Sucoca is open from 10am, Monday to Saturday.
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