There are few people who can stay indifferent to such amazing chocolate creations! Pralines, truffles, chocolate bonbons with so many unusual exquisite fillings - we were curious who is the heroine behind the scenes?
It is Kadri - a founder of @nopra_chocolate. She created an amazing blend of swiss chocolate and nordic ingredients - lava salt from Iceland, liquorice from Copenhagen, sea bucktorn from Estonia... Are you also tempted?
She makes people happy by teaching them to create their own pralines in her chocolate workshops in Switzerland and spreads the chocolate joy around the world.
What is it like to be an owner of such a sweet & delicious business? Read our interview with Kadri below!
@ichselbstaendig: Kadri, looking at your instagram account is so tempting and mouth-watering! Where do you get all these creative ideas for your chocolates?
Kadri: The ideas are anywhere and everywhere. They are always popping up around me like mushrooms after a rainy day. I just have to pick up the best of them and make something out of them. And that is the fun part because you never know what the end result will be.
I love to experiment with the different ingredients. Sometimes it can take several months before I am happy with the end taste of the chocolate ganache. There should be a symbiosis of taste, a firework of different flavours and not just a sugar kick when eating your chocolate.
@ichselbstaendig: How did you chocolatier-journey begin?
Kadri: 10 years ago I got the opportunity to move to Switzerland. And then I discovered the amazing chocolates in this country. I was so curious - how can the Swiss chocolate taste so good. Are they doing something differently? What is the secret? My curiosity got the best of me so I booked a 3 days chocolate course in Zürich. That day was the start of an amazing journey. Now I am a certified chocolatier making people happy with my chocolate workshops.
@ichselbstaendig: Nopra offers swiss chocolate with a nordic twist - can you tell us more about this special soul of your chocolate?
Kadri: Growing up in the North, Nordic food has always had a special place in my heart. In my chocolates I am bringing the best of 2 worlds together - Swiss chocolate mixed with Nordic ingredients. Yellow cloudberries, red lingonberries, lava salt from Iceland and the best liquorice from Copenhagen. My chocolate workshops are like a little gourmet trips to the north and back.
@ichselbstaendig: Do you work alone or do you have a team of helpers?
Kadri: I work alone but without the support of my family it would never work. I like the honest taste opinion of my husband and my little son is the most curious and creative person I know.
@ichselbstaendig: Do you have your own chocolate shop, or do you mostly sell online or at the markets?
Kadri: I have an online shop at www.noprachocolate.com where I currently only sell workshops and gift certificates.
At the moment I am working on a chocolate project called Nopra@Home. It is a bag including everything you need (couverture chocolate, hollow truffles, special ingredients, piping bag, easy instructions) in order to create your own pralines at home. The first Nopra@Home bags will be available at Women Expo in Zürich in March. The idea is to start to sell the bags also at my online shop later this year.
@ichselbstaendig: Noprachocolate hosts chocolate workshops: to whom are they targeted and how do you structure them? Can anyone be a part of it?
Kadri: The Nopra Chocolate workshops near Zürich and Olten are a perfect introduction to artisan chocolate making and suitable for anyone who would like to know how to create chocolate pralines. During the 4,5 hours workshop we go through all the different steps of creating truffles and moulded pralines. We create personal ganach, temper the chocolate, work with professional chocolate forms and in the end decorate the chocolates. There is always a little Nordic apero as a start.
This year there will be a new workshop called "Let's decorate Nordic Pralines".
@ichselbstaendig: How do you see the future of Noprachocolate?
Kadri: I am taking one step after another on my chocolate journey and let's see where the path will bring me. I am really curious. You never know what will happen on the way.
@ichselbstaendig: You were not afraid to start your business in a very competitive market. Do you have an advice to women who want to start own business (sweet or any other) but hesitating?
Kadri: Don't think too much, just do it. Little step every day and see where its going. Listen to the opinion of other people around you but in the end it is your life and your passion.
Do it your way.
@ichselbstaendig: Kadri, is there a woman who inspired you to take the entrepreneurial journey?
Kadri: There is no specific woman who inspired me to start but there are many women around me who are inspiring me and helping me on my journey.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. - I love this African proverb said this week by the charming Women Expo starter Lisa Chuma.
