A CHOCOLATIER is celebrating the sweet taste of success after scooping two awards at a national ceremony.

Haddington’s The Chocolate Tree secured double gold at the International Chocolate Awards British National Competition.

Alastair Gower, the man behind the chocolates, was delighted with the company’s success.

The Chocolate Tree, which employs a dozen people, claimed gold in the ‘Dark Chocolate Bars with a Filling’ category for their Gianduja – a sweet hazelnut paste – bar. And they secured the double when they won gold in the ‘Flavoured White Chocolate Bars’ for their rose and vanilla bar.

Alastair, 34, said: “We were told some of the judges were Italian so to get a good mark is pretty good.

“Italians and hazelnuts have a history together – Nutella comes from the north of Italy after all.” Chocolate Tree also took bronze at the awards, which were held in York, the birthplace of sweet manufacturers Rowntree’s, for their chocolate hazelnut spread in the Spreads with Dark Chocolate (no milk powder) category.

Alastair said: “The real judges are the consumers and customers.

“They buy the product and if it’s good they keep buying it – so they are the most important judges. But it is good to get the official verdict from chocolate connoisseurs and those that really know their stuff.

“It is a good thing and gives the team recognition after their hard work.” Alastair began making delicious chocolates more than a decade ago and stressed it was very much a team effort.

Chocolate Tree’s factory is based on the town’s Knox Place.

There, cacao beans from exotic locations such as Peru and Madagascar are transformed into mouth-watering chocolate bars, drinking chocolate or chocolate spreads.

The products are then sold at farmers’ markets, farm shops and the two Chocolate Tree shops, one in Edinburgh and the other on Haddington’s Hardgate.

The winners now go on to the world finals, which are held in London, during Chocolate Week, which runs from October 12-18.