Rich, dark and good looking– chocolate is so enticing that our love affair with the cocoa bean has never waned since the days when Christopher Columbus discovered it in the South Americas in the 1500s.

Today in an age of mass manufacture hand-made chocolate eggs are becoming more sought-after as the skill of chocolate makers such as Benoit Lorge offer an explosion of gourmet pleasure.

With the Irish so well travelled their expectations and tastes, even with regard to chocolate, consistently up the standards of the most humble egg. As a result this Frenchman as I write is busy creating his selection of Easter offerings in The Chocolate Crust in Bonane, a tiny village just outside Kenmare in Kerry.

Like all good chefs Lorge knows that success lies in its ingredients. Choosing only the finest French and Belgian chocolate in its preparation such as the renowned Valrhona, a name synonymous with quality, along with 50% almond in his marzipan and 60% nuts in his praline the ingredients dictate the superiority and excellence of his creations.

Born in Nancy, France after qualifying as Head Pastry Chef, Lorge worked in different restaurants in France. After a stint doing military service, he wanted to study the Celtic culture and learn English, which brought him to the Inverlochy Castle in Scotland, one of the most famous hotels in the British Isles.

Lorge returned to France, working in the Michelin Star chateaux, La Villa, in Corsica. As the son of a train driver his passion for travel began at an early age when he toured the whole of France as a young boy.

Itchy feet and curiosity about Ireland brought him to Le Chateaux in Athlone in 1999 where he fell in love not just with the people but also with the country itself. He chose Athlone to work because it is in the centre of Ireland and offered the possibility to easily explore the whole country which he did at every opportunity.

When his partner became pregnant they decided to return to his home place for the birth of their son and to be near family and friends during which time Lorge worked as Head Pastry chef in Zemp pastry shop in Nancy.

But Ireland had got into his blood and having visited Kenmare during his travels he knew that it was the place he wanted to raise his son. So he returned to Kerry working for four years in the Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare.

In December of 2003 during a quiet period in the tourist season Lorge asked if he could use their kitchens to make 200 boxes of chocolates to raise money for the Kenmare playground. His chocolates quickly sold in less than two weeks. Spurred on by this success Lorge invested all his money to build the Chocolate Crust in 2004, where he started to make hand-made chocolates in the traditional way that he had learnt in the chocolate shops Genot & Godart in France.

To day he lives out his dream working for a living making chocolate. Constantly updating his range of chocolates, he creates a new recipe every month. This month it’s a mouth-watering concoction of white chocolate and coconut truffle.

Every occasion and celebration is catered for, from communion to confirmation, engagement to weddings. He is kept busy supplying the local Kenmare Park Hotel as well as his former employers, Sheen Falls Lodge. While most of the west coast is fortunate enough to have Lorge’s chocolates in their shops and hotels, in Dublin his eggs and chocolates are available in Morton’s in Rathmines and La Maison De Gourmet, Castle Street with The Merrion Hotel offering his assortment of sweet delights.

So for all you sophisticated chocoholics out there, you can make your next special occasion a mouth-watering treat by contacting Benoit Lorge at 087-9917172 where he will design a chocolate sculptured masterpiece if you so require that will certainly be good enough to eat!