Chantal Coady
{{Infobox person
| image = Chantal Coady portrait.jpeg
| birth_date = 17 April 1959
| birth_place = Tehran, Iran
| education = Mary Datchelor School
| alma_mater = Camberwell College of Arts
| employer = Harrods, Rococo Chocolates Ltd., The Chocolate Detective
| children = 2
}}
{{Short description|British chocolatier (b.1959)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
Chantal Jane Coady O.B.E. (born 17 April 1959), is a British chocolatier, author and business woman.
Biography
Coady was born on 17 April 1959 in Tehran, Iran{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/8884048/Soul-Food-Chantal-Coady-on-buckwheat-pancakes.html|title=Soul Food: Chantal Coady on buckwheat pancakes|date=20 November 2011|work=Telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=14 November 2015}} and has lived and worked in London since the mid-1970s. She studied at Mary Datchelor School,{{cite news |last1=Lacey |first1=Hester |title=The Inventory: Chantal Coady |url=https://www.ft.com/content/99b98460-74f4-11e4-a418-00144feabdc0 |accessdate=11 January 2020 |work=Financial Times |date=28 November 2014}} before studying art at the Camberwell College of Arts.{{Cite web |date=2018-07-03 |title=Q&A: CHANTAL COADY |url=https://www.marylebonejournal.com/articles/chantal-coady |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Marylebone Journal |language=en-GB}}
She founded the British chocolatiers and cocoa growers Rococo Chocolates Ltd. in 1983,{{Cite web |date=2016-10-14 |title=Chantal Coady: the business woman who introduced the UK to dark chocolate |url=https://www.workspace.co.uk/content-hub/entrepreneurs/chantal-coady-the-business-woman-who-introduced-t |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Workspace |language=en-Gb}} wanting to change the way that fine chocolate was perceived by selling British-made dark chocolate grown at a single estate in Granada.{{Cite web |title=Rococo Chocolates: Our Story |url=https://www.rococochocolates.com/pages/rococo-chocolates-our-story |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Rococo Chocolates |language=en}} She came up with the name for the company during a three-week business studies course.
Coady was appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of June 2014 "for services to chocolate making".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/13/queens-birthday-honours-obe|title=Queen's birthday honours list 2014: OBE|work=the Guardian|date=13 June 2014 |accessdate=14 November 2015}} In 2017, she collaborated with Roald Dahl’s estate to create chocolates inspired by his children's books and introduced a Christmas range of chocolates and clothing in the shop luxury high-street shop Jigsaw.
Rococo Chocolates Ltd. went into administration in 2019. Following her departure from Rococo Chocolates Ltd., Coady founded another venture later in 2019, trading as The Chocolate Detective and focusing on ethical production and sourcing slavery-free chocolate.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-16|title=Notes on chocolate: spring eggs to make you sing like a thrush|url=http://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/may/16/annalisa-barbieri-notes-on-chocolate-spring-eggs-to-make-you-sing-like-a-thrush|access-date=2021-05-17|website=the Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2021-02-02|title=About Chantal|url=https://www.chocolatedetective.co.uk/about-chantal/|access-date=2021-05-17|website=The Chocolate Detective|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2025-03-16 |title=Award-winning chocolatier to visit the Isle of Wight |url=https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/25001527.isle-wight-british-chocolatier-chantal-coady-visit-island/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Isle of Wight County Press |language=en}}
Coady was appointed the co-chair of The Academy of Chocolate in 2021.{{Cite web |date=6 April 2021 |title=The Academy of Chocolate announces new board appointments |url=https://academyofchocolate.org.uk/the-academy-of-chocolate-announces-new-board-appointments/ |access-date=2021-05-17 |website=Academy of Chocolate |language=en-GB}} She also works as creative director, brand ambassador and on the board of directors at the Prestat Group.{{Cite web |title=Chantal Coady OBE makes major return to Rococo and Prestat as creative director |url=https://www.confectioneryproduction.com/news/44655/chantal-coady-obe-makes-major-return-to-rococo-and-prestat-as-creative-director/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Confectionery Production |language=en}}
References
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Category:People educated at Mary Datchelor School
Category:Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire
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