Is this Glasgow's real Willy Wonka experience? Bare Bones owner talks expansion, TV and ethical chocolate

But after the viral disappointment-turned-sensation of the Willy Wonka Experience, held in the city in February, the chocolate makers can now be described as the real deal experience, especially given their recent expansion.

The business, which is located at 111 King Street in Glasgow, started with what co-owner Lara calls a ‘bit of a breakdown’. She said: “My background is in food photography and part of my work was visiting small makers and coffee shops to photograph for an online lifestyle magazine.

“We both loved coffee and that naturally led us to try bean to bar chocolate and we were so intrigued by it. One day I had a particularly difficult client and I think I had a bit of a breakdown on the train home. I started thinking how cool it would be to make chocolate all day.

“I started to research exactly how to make it and phoned my husband [Cameron] to tell him that this was our new path. Chocolate making is all science and engineering, which fit perfectly with our skillset as Cam is a mechanical engineer.”

While Lara always had a sweet tooth and enjoyed chocolate, she admits she never really understood it until about seven years ago. It was learning more that led to the business name.

“Realising that cacao is a fruit and that you can get such unique and interesting taste notes from different genetics is so exciting,” she said. “This is why we are called Bare Bones too – our bars have three ingredients: cacao beans, raw unrefined cane sugar and a tiny bit of cocoa butter. It’s our job as a chocolate maker to highlight the delicate flavours of the beans and retain the intricate work the farmers have already done. Cacao is the most incredible and exciting food. We would love for it to be appreciated the same way as coffee, wine or whisky.”

Having established Bare Bones in 2018 in Lara’s parents garage, the couple have recently expanded their shop, which is located in the east end of Glasgow. A recent TV appearance on Rick Stein’s Food Stories on BBC2 has also meant a flurry of orders, which Lara said “makes her day”.

Of the Stein visit, Lara said: “We have admired Rick Stein for years and have watched all of his shows, so to see him walking down [nearby] Osborne Street was so surreal. The first time he tried our chocolate was when the camera was rolling, so you can imagine our reaction when he said it is the best chocolate he has ever had.”

As for the new shop, what can customers expect? Lara said: “We want our shop to be the best experience you can have with our chocolate – from having a perfectly made hot chocolate with mallows, to enjoying samples of every bar or chatting with us to craft the perfect gift for someone special.

“Cam and I built and designed the shop ourselves and want it to be a calm and welcoming space where you can sit and be fully immersed in the Bare Bones world.”