Willie Harcourt-Cooze

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William "Willie" George Harcourt-Cooze is a British entrepreneur who came to public prominence in 2008 with the airing of the fly-on-the-wall documentary, Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory, centred around his efforts to be one of the first Britons since the Cadbury family to grow, import and produce their own chocolate. He lives in Tiverton, Devon with his wife Tania and three children - Sophia (nine), William (seven) and Eve (four). [1][2][3][4][5]

Born to a half Burmese father who had fled Burma for Ireland during the Second World War and an Irish mother, the family settled in Ireland where they bought a 180 acre island. Rather than live on it, they farmed sheep and cattle on it, which would swim across the sea to reach the mainland. The family lived near the island, on the mainland, where they grew oats and wheat, kept goats and bees and cultivated a 120ft tunnel of vegetables, "We were all dressed in hand-me-downs, had overgrown hair and were constantly inventing ways to make money. It was very much The Good Life." [3][2][1]

After leaving school and a succession of bar and club work, he considered following his father and becoming a property developer, when in 1996 he met model and actress Tania Coleridge, sold his house and they left England for Venezuela where they ran a small hotel, a restaurant and organised tourist walks through one of the national parks. They married, and whilst on honeymoon discovered, and later purchased, a 1,000 acres (400 ha) cocoa hacienda in Choroni. They planted more than 50,000 criollo cacao trees, the highest quality strain of cocoa and built up an eco-tourism venture before having to mothball it temporarily due to the political and economic climate. [2][3][1][6]

Back in the UK, after several years of assembling suitable equipment, and the resumption of cocoa farming, he began production in 2007 in Uffculme, Devon. [2][7]

He produces three 100% cocoa varieties under the Venezuelan Black label - Hacienda El Tesoro which has berry fruit characteristics and is made from multiple varieties from his hacienda - El Tesoro (which translated, means 'Treasure'). Carenero Superior which has nut and spice characteristics and Rio Caribe Superior which has citrus characteristics are each made from high quality single variety beans sourced from other farms. The subtle flavour characteristics occur from the beans themselves, as no flavouring additives are used. [2]

The cocoa bars are available from retail outlets Selfridges and Waitrose and direct via his website, as well as being supplied to Marco Pierre White's White Star Line restaurants. [2][7]

Somewhat ironically, in December 2007, singer and Uffculme resident, Joss Stone was signed up by Cadbury's to be the next Flake Girl in the long running series of adverts. The adverts appearing in the advertisement breaks during the documentary. [8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References & footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Goodhart, Benjie. Interview: Willie Harcourt-Cooze. News. Channel 4 Sales.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory. Channel 4.
  3. ^ a b c Weinberg, Kate. "Willie's wacky chocolate factory", The Daily Telegraph, 23 February 2008. 
  4. ^ His children's ages are as of Telegraph article dated 23 February 2008
  5. ^ TM: a selection of Trade Marks and Brand Names registered in April 2007. Food Trade Review. Entrepreneur Magazine (August 2007).
  6. ^ Wynn-Davies, Patricia. "Me and My Home: At home with history", The Independent, findarticles.com, 17 March 2004. 
  7. ^ a b "Documentory Follows Willie's Chocolate Quest", Express & Echo, 04 March 2008. 
  8. ^ "Singer Stone is new Flake girl", Mid Devon Star, 27 December 2007. 
  1. Dowling, Tim. "Extreme measures", Food & Drink, The Guardian, 7 April 2007. 

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Harcourt-Cooze, William George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harcourt-Cooze, Willie
SHORT DESCRIPTION British entrepreneur who came to public prominence in 2008 with the airing of the fly-on-the-wall documentary, Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory, centred around his efforts to be one of the first Britain's since the Cadbury family to grow, import and produce their own chocolate.
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH