Chocolate interview: Sanja Giampa Gojković (Rustika Chocolate Factory)

Name: Sanja Giampa Gojković.

Job title: Sales Manager at Rustika Chocolate Factory.

Previous experience in chocolate

I''ve loved chocolate since I can remember... Chocolate is not thinning and has a lot of endorphins of happiness :)

Your first thought, association with the word "chocolate" is:

To share it with someone - Anything worth having is worth sharing.

What are your favourite flavours at the moment?

Definitely caramel cubes with homemade caramel, Slovenian hazelnuts and a pinch of Piranha salt.

What is your most requested chocolate product of all time?

The wide range of products makes them all desirable, but lately, the caramel cubes stand out.

How much chocolate do you (re)consume per year?

Around 20 tonnes of chocolate every year.

What kind of chocolate do you use - what kind of cocoa bean is it made from?

Some time ago we stopped buying chocolate from the world''s major manufacturers and instead looked for smaller boutique suppliers. We now use chocolate that is made for us by a small family-run company in Italy, using our own recipe.

What is your key difference from the competition, what are you simply the best at?

We try really hard, we try to make all the components needed for each product ourselves, a lot of knowledge, skill and hard work goes into each product.

What is the most important thing when it comes to making chocolate desserts yourself at home?Perhaps you can give us a "secret" tip?

We suggest using only first-class basic ingredients, avoiding semi-prepared products, powders, pastes, etc. And with top-quality chocolate, desserts will be - top-quality. :)

It is said that chocolate will become significantly more expensive in the future and will only be available to the wealthy. Will this really happen?

We are following quite a lot of what is happening in the world, as our friend Dr Smiljana Lambert, a world-renowned biologist, is working on sustainable cocoa farming in Asian and Pacific countries. If the price rise is really going to happen, it is a question of the harvest.

Finally, is there anything else you would like to say to our cocoholics?

Chocolate products can certainly be part of a healthy diet. If they are of good quality and made from ''scratch'', i.e. from first-class basic ingredients, without artificial powders, pastes and other additives, then we can afford them without guilt.