Louise Nason: The sweet smell of success

Louise Cameron discovers how chocolate, children and a charming demeanour is all in a day’s work for Ledbury Road local and owner of Melt, Louise Nason

Above: Louise Nason in her chocolate boutique, Melt

The most bewitching of aromas catches you at Melt’s door; one that beckons a constant stream of manicured chocoholics into Louise Nason’s edible wonderland. The day of our interview is one of those rare, blazing midsummer mornings. A large window fronts leafy Ledbury Road, and as the sunlight streams, I can’t help wondering; has Louise’s chocolate boutique’s moreish name jinxed any masterpieces? ‘Well, there was one…’ she admits. ‘We spent 18 hours sculpting a beautiful head and shoulders profile for our window display. It was a hot one, like today, and when we looked in at lunchtime, it had melted into a Dali-esque creation. We were rather sick about that!’

A self-confessed chocolate obsessive herself, Louise’s passion for the sweet stuff was ingrained at an early age. ‘It’s always been a part of my life. I was eight when I was given my first cookbook – a chocolate one, of course. All I wanted to do was cook with chocolate! Chocolate biscuit cake was a particular favourite and I seem to remember living on Coco Pops with evaporated milk, which I then also craved when I was pregnant,’ she recalls laughing, before adding quickly with mock horror, ‘Not that I’d ever let my kids eat that today!’

But she didn’t seriously get into the sweet stuff until three decades later. Louise was working as a print specialist at Christie’s in South Kensington, but starting a family prompted a career change. ‘Returning to work didn’t pay the nanny so I became a full-time mum, which gave me an opportunity to think about what I really wanted to do,’ she says. Ben, her youngest, was just one when she hit upon the idea of setting up a chic chocolate boutique, like a modern-day version of Chocolat’s beautiful protagonist Vianne Rocher.

The timing couldn’t have been better; people were becoming aware of dark chocolate’s antioxidant-packed health benefits, not to mention its complexity and intensity; Louise had spotted the first ripples of a ‘chocolate revolution’. ‘I saw that chocolate had this amazing career ahead of itself, so I decided it was the right time for me to tuck into that,’ she says. She then went on to ‘have a bit of fun’ throwing aside the old chocolate-shop mould.

‘I was sick of formal and rather clinical chocolate shops,’ Louise says, ‘where glistening chocolates are lined up behind glass and customers have to queue while the person at the front umms and aahs. Yes, handmade chocolates are beautiful and they take a huge time, effort and craftsmanship to make, but too many chocolate shops treat them like jewels. People seem to forget they’re not just meant to look good, but also to be eaten and enjoyed.’

Louise began by getting ‘seriously into chocolate’, learning as much as she could, fast. ‘Basically I tasted a lot of it!’ she says. It was a ‘massive learning curve’, but one that didn’t deter. Within six months she’d found the site – an empty shell, hitherto an antique shop, off Westbourne Grove – and commissioned a ‘modern, light and airy chocolate-box design with an open kitchen’ from Notting Hill-based architects Michaelis Boyd Associates. ‘A mutual friend put us in touch with Michaelis. We immediately clicked; we were thinking along the same simple, clean lines,’ she explains.

Rather than refrigerated glass cabinets, the shop is kept at a controlled temperature of 18°C. In fact, the only glass you’ll find here is a whimsical 1930s clouded-white Murano-glass chandelier, which itself seems to melt over the to-die-for chocolate display. Like the brand name, it was deliberately chosen for its ‘oozy, sensual, falling-in-love connotation’.

Introducing the drama of making the chocolates in situ was also central to Louise’s vision. Instead of looking to competition, she followed her gut instinct. ‘I wanted the chocolates to sing; to tell their own story without distraction,’ she says. The man for the job? Melt’s master chocolatier, British-born and Swiss-trained Keith Hurdman. ‘Chocolatiers are like unicorns: there aren’t many around, so I’m very lucky to have him!’

In February 2006, Louise opened Melt, selling handmade chocolates that quickly scooped her nationwide industry plaudits, along with a constant stream of well-heeled customers. Given her inventive approach and mouth-watering creations, using the best chocolate beans money can buy (from Venezuela, Colombia and Madagascar), it’s not surprising people quickly fell for Melt.

Instead of being trapped behind glass, Louise’s chocolates stand on dishes, glistening and beseeching you to ‘Eat me!’ Truffles and clusters, squares, bars and love hearts, they’re placed to tempt you into choosing, pick-and-mix style, using wooden trays and tongs.

With each chocolate taking a labour-intensive up to three days to make, it’s all a constantly rolling process – Melt makes tiny batches to avoid wastage – but Louise is forever surprised by her team’s creative energy. ‘They’re always dreaming up new flavours, which means there are new chocolates on display every week,’ she says, explaining how growth and change is vital. ‘My biggest fear is becoming stagnant.’

No risk of that: far from seeing people tighten their purse strings this summer, sales have soared. ‘Traditionally, Christmas, Valentine’s and Easter are our peak periods, but this year we’ve really noticed chocolate becoming more popular perennially,’ Louise says. So her current favourite? ‘Coconut panache,’ she admits. ‘But during summer, lighter, more feminine flavours such as jasmine green tea, raspberry balsamic and crystallised mint discs sell best.’

Despite requests for more experimental recipes, Melt currently draws the line at chilli. ‘Every flavour needs to work,’ explains Louise. ‘Keith and I agree that you can do a great marketing trick by creating weird and wonderful chocolates, but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t taste good, what’s the point? We leave the garlic, pickled-onion and sardine creations to the great masters; I don’t want to try a chocolate and have to spit it in the bin!’

Those with a more traditional palate can indulge in Melt’s autumnal berry flavours, including alcohol-soaked British cherries dipped in dark chocolate, created in unison with Antony Worrall-Thompson. ‘That said,’ she adds, laughing, ‘we’ve introduced some absolutely delicious aniseed and fennel discs in our autumn/winter collection this year, out in September, which you’ll have to taste!’

I certainly don’t need to be asked twice, see you there soon…

Melt, 59 Ledbury Road, W11 2AA
020 7727 5030

Melt holds chocolate workshops for children on Wednesdays and Saturdays from £25. Also on offer are chocolate demonstrations for children’s parties and a bespoke wedding service. In all instances, please call to book. Melt chocolates are also stocked in Conran, Wholefoods and Selfridges.