WATCH: Paul O'Connell and his Cork city chocolate factory

Paul O’Connell returned to Cork after 35 years in the U.S to set-up his own chocolate factory. KATE RYAN visited Tory Top Chocolate to find out more about the enterprise which has opened in the heart of Cork city.

For Paul O’Connell, making chocolate represents the perfect marriage of career and ion.

As the founder of Tory Top Chocolate, Ireland’s newest bean-to-bar chocolate maker based on Marlboro Street in Cork city, it also meant a chance to come home.

Originally from Tory Top Park in Ballyphehane and an engineer by profession, Paul left Cork for the U.S 35 years ago, working in large-scale chocolate and biopharma industries – both have more in common than might be initially thought.

As Paul says, from a process point of view, things either go in a line or round and round!

Eventually, he set up his own business deg and building machines and once more found his clientele split between biopharma and chocolate.

“I was building these machines for chocolate companies, and they would send me batches of beans to test the equipment with. That was when I realised there was more to making chocolate than I had thought of before,” Paul says.

From here, the engineer’s curiosity gave way to an all-out obsession. Any time an opportunity to travel arose, Paul sought out a cocoa plantation or a chocolate maker to keep up with his thirst for learning how to turn cacao beans into chocolate.

In the end, the decision to come home was quick and swift.

“My daughter was at university, living her life, and I suddenly realised there was nothing really keeping me in the U.S. I sold my company, packed up, and came back to Cork.”

Soon after, Paul acquired the building formerly home to John O’Flynn & Sons Butchers, and the shop opened for business in early December, 2024.

The building’s distinctive bowed windows have been kept, but the rest of the interior has been given a glow-up that embraces a rustic artisan feel to the café and shop to the front.

A hand-built glass partition separates the café from the chocolate factory and the stainless steel roasters, winnowers, conchers and tempering machines for chocolate making.

Much of the renovation work was carried out by Paul himself – by hand - and fitted out with reclaimed materials, including old bookcases from a bookshop that once operated above, floorboards repurposed into the coffee bar, and recycled red brick for a distinctive feature wall.

The walls and floors are decorated with hand-painted art decals by Paul’s sister, an artist. As if to cement the feeling of this being a family affair, Paul’s nephew, Rory Nagle, is barista, social media manager and runs chocolate making workshops.

Bespoke window seating nestles into those curved windows, fitted with covers of burlap sackcloth in which cocoa beans once travelled from across the world.

Before chocolate gets to us, it starts its life as a tree. The cacao tree grows in very specific conditions usually found 10 degrees above and below the equator – a sort of cocoa belt around the globe.

It must be hot and humid, and it grows under the canopy of much larger trees. The trees flower twice a year, and as the flower dies, a seed pod develops which can be green, yellow or red in colour.

Inside the pod are cacao beans covered in a white tropical fruit-tasting film. The beans are scooped out and left out to sun dry and for the white goo to ferment away. Once dried, the beans are bagged and sold to chocolate makers. Now some of them are here, on Marlboro Street in Cork city.

Most of the world’s cacao is cultivated in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on Africa’s west coast, although it is native to Central and South America: Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico.

Paul is also sourcing beans from lesser-known areas, such as India (a burgeoning market for cacao production), Vietnam, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Each cacao region produces beans with different flavour profiles, and Paul’s job – through roasting and conching – is to determine the exact set of circumstances to extract the fullest flavour and best texture to make a perfect bar of chocolate.

“There are only two ingredients in our chocolate,” says Paul. “Cacao beans and raw cane sugar.

“We don’t use any dairy or flavourings which makes our chocolate suitable for vegans and those with dairy allergies,” explains Paul.

By focusing just on the beans and not adding anything else, every bar of chocolate is a pure expression of the cacao itself. It’s a luxury product, dark chocolate all the way, and the kind of thing that’s made to be slowly savoured paired with good wine or excellent whiskey.

But don’t be swayed into thinking this is all chocolate and no fun! Paul and Rory host regular chocolate-making workshops – all with a BYO policy baked into the offering.

“We opened just before Christmas last year, but the workshops have been an instant hit,” says Paul.

“We have already had several groups come back for repeat visits. They are proving a hit with corporate groups – it’s a bit of fun, they learn something, and it’s great for team bonding.”

It’s not all work-related fun either. The workshops have proven popular with birthday groups, but places can also be booked on an individual basis or as a couple.

“The workshops are two hours, from 5-7pm, which makes it a great way to kick off an evening for people. They can come here, make their chocolate and then go on and have dinner and drinks after.

“We also find we’re getting a much younger crowd who are looking for things to do in the evening that doesn’t involve going to a bar.”

As well as the factory and the workshops, Tory Top Chocolate is also open during the day for top-notch coffee and signature hot chocolate, including their take on a Mexican hot chocolate flavoured with cinnamon and chilli.

“We’re a kind of chocolate café, I guess,” says Paul, who is clearly enjoying the social aspect of running a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the heart of the city.

Easter is just around the corner, when chocolate has its moment in the sun. This will be Tory Top Chocolate’s first Easter so to celebrate, as well as being open for chocolate, coffee and the usual weekly schedule of workshops, Paul and Rory are hosting two special events just for kids.

On Saturday from 12-3pm, all kids are welcome to take part in the Tory Top Chocolate Easter Egg Hunt where mini chocolate eggs will be stashed all around the shop. The event is free and open to all.

On Saturday and Easter Sunday, Tory Top Chocolate will host a one-hour Kids Chocolate Pizza workshop with freshly prepared pizza bases by Nostra ready for kids to decorate with chocolate and candies in the chocolate factory. Children must be accompanied by an adult (€20 p/child, €30 p/adult), and pre-booking via the website is highly recommended.

See www.torytopchocolate.com