Bespoke Bars!

The 'Bespoke Bars' chocolate-making party package is our all time favourite and most popular birthday workshop!  Each chocolatier gets to design, make and take home four of their very own, totally unique, and certified delicious chocolate bars.
Recommended age range: 7 + years

Duration: ​2 hours (includes both chocolate activity & time for party food)

Activity: each child will create (with the help of our chocolate team) four chocolate bars, painted on one side with their own unique design and decorated on top with delicious treats. 

Price from £345

Location: The Chocolate Shed.
​(Please note we are unable to host this workshop in a different venue)
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With stirring, pouring, decorating and, of course eating, children love joining in the chocolate fun! ​

The chocolate fun!

This chocolate making party is not only delicious but also chance for children to set their imaginations free and think creatively, with the help of our team.  During the workshop, each guest will create four chocolate bars- decorated with a cocoa butter painted design on the base and adorned with sprinkles and treats on top. 

The first stage of the party, is therefore, to plan out a design for these totally unique and special bars.  Our budding chocolatier guests then use specialist edible cocoa butter-based paints to transfer their artistic designs to the base of the chocolate bar moulds.  Once the painting is complete, they will fill the bar moulds with molten chocolate.  Scraping out any left over chocolate from the bottom of the cups is actively encouraged and greeted with much delight by all!
No chocolate bar is complete without a dazzling topping of delicious treats and yummy inclusions!  Once these have been sprinkled on to the chocolate, the bars are put in our special fridges to set.  Setting takes approximately 30 minutes, which is the perfect length of time for some well earned party food (creativity makes you very hungry!).

Before leaving the workshop, guests remove their chocolate bars from the moulds (a fun process which involves lots of banging!) and safely pack them in clear Natureflex bags (bags made from plant materials which are compostable) to take home and show off to family and friends.

Also included in every party!


  • A chocolate party invitation template.
  • THE chocolate tasting game!
  • A paper bag for each mini chocolatier containing their chocolate bars (safely packaged in a plant-based clear bag).
  • A chocolate-themed activity (a birthday wordsearch or colouring). 
  • Squash or water for each child (chocolate making is thirsty work!)

​The Chocolate Shed believes in real, sustainable fun. For this reason we seek to minimise single use plastic and waste at all of our events and source our ingredients responsibly.  You can read more here.
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Taste, design, decorate and create wonderful, unique, yummy chocolates certain to impress!​

Party food!

In order for the chocolate bars made during this workshop to set so they can be safely transported home, 30 minutes to enjoy a birthday lunch/tea is timetabled into all Bespoke Bars! parties. 

You can can either:
​
  • Bring your own food for the children to munch on after making their chocolates. Our staff are also on hand to help, and of course will do all the clearing away and washing up for you!
    OR
  • We can provide locally handmade party food for your youngsters to tuck into. All of our party food options will be made fresh on the day by our local onsite providers.
    A typical party menu includes a range of sandwiches, a selection of crisps, savoury finger food (sausage roll, Lashford's sausages or vegetarian options), fresh fruit and fun chocolate shapes from Henley Chocolates for each child.

Add a little extra....

Party planning can be stressful and time consuming for busy parents (we know all too well!) and so we can also help with party bags (filled with lots of goodies!)

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Our party food menu has been certified delicious by children (and thoroughly approved of by parents)

Pricing

Location: The Chocolate Shed (up to a maximum of 14 people)
  • Bespoke Bars! party package with own food (2 hours): £345 for up to 8 guests, £19 per person for extra spaces 
  • Bespoke Bars! party package with party platters (2 hours): £395 for up to 8 guests, £25 per person for extra spaces 
  • All inclusive Bespoke Bars! party package (with party platters and party bags, 2 hours): £445 for up to 8 guests, £30 per person for extra spaces. 

Any other location: 
Sadly we are unable to offer this party package off-site.
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We can help you throw a party everyone is delighted with!​

Reviews

After every party and event we welcome any of those who participated for feedback.  This is extremely valuable to us and we often tweak our workshops accordingly to make them even more perfect (if that is possible!). Please read on for recent reviews. You may also like to check out our reviews on Google and Facebook.
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"Superb! We took our daughter here for a chocolate making birthday party [ ]. The staff were excellent [ ] seeing the kids faces when their chocolates were complete was brilliant."​

Frequently asked questions

What will the children do during the party?
During a Bespoke Bars! chocolate party each guest (the children, teens and any participating adults) will design and create four totally unique and special chocolate bars to be taken home and enjoyed.  Guests will use specialist cocoa butter paint to add their own designs to the bottom of the bar moulds before filling with molten chocolate and sprinkling yummy treats on the top.
While the chocolate masterpieces are cooling in our special fridge, there's lots more fun to be had- our chocolate tasting game is always a hit, there's a chocolate themed activity personalised to the birthday child (colouring or a wordsearch), and, of course, there are cups of molten chocolate which just need to be scraped out! 
The sumptuously thick and totally chocolate-y bars take longer to set than other masterpieces created during our party packages. Hence 30 minutes to enjoy some party food (either supplied by yourself or our caterers) is scheduled into every event
Can parents of the mini chocolatiers attending stay and watch their children?
Due to space limitations we request that extra people (adults or children) do not attend just to watch unless a space has been reserved for them.  
Often the parents of our young chocolatiers opt to stay at Yew Tree Farm, have a cuppa and chat in The Cowshed Cafe (located on the opposite side of the courtyard to The Chocolate Shed) or browse the lovely array of independent shops and businesses onsite.  
What age range is this party package suitable for?
The Bespoke Bars! chocolate making party is ideal for chocolatiers aged 7 - 107 years.  The activities tend to be a little tricky for younger children so we recommend one of our other party packages (Prehistoric Party!, Utterly Unique Unicorns! or Fabulous Flamingos!).  
Older children, teens and chocolate-loving adults find the Bespoke Bars! party package just as exciting (if not more so!) and fun as youngsters; they access the activities on a higher level and can go to town designing and decorating their bars.
One of our group is allergic to ....
Unless requested in advance, all participants will be using milk and/or white chocolate.  We can accommodate most special dietary requirements but will need at least a weeks notice to ensure suitable alternative ingredients are available. If you have any concerns please contact us prior to booking.  You can also find out more about The Chocolate Shed's Health & Safety policy (which includes allergen management) here.
Do the children need to bring anything with them?
No, everything will be provided on the day, including an apron. We do recommend however that they don't wear their finest clothes, just in case there is a spillage.  The children will also be using our specialist cocoa butter paint (for decorating the chocolate bars) and felt tips (to complete their birthday wordsearches or colouring) during the party.
Can I visit The Chocolate Shed to look round before booking?
Of course, you are more than welcome to visit us! However, outside of workshop times The Chocolate Shed is typically shut and so contact us before making the journey.  Also note that for safeguarding purposes, we do not permit anyone other than the parents of children attending an event into our workshop space while an event is going on.
Often parents opt to attend one of our school holiday workshops before booking a birthday party.
What time of day do you host parties?
At weekends we typically have three slots per day available on a first-come-first-served basis (they do get booked up quite far in advance though).  These are for events starting at 10:00, 14:00 and 17:30.
Can I come earlier and decorate the room?
You are more than welcome to bring extra birthday decorations but please be advised that in the 30 minutes before your child's party starts our staff will be busy setting up and preparing.  We tend to ask that parents of the birthday child arrive no more than 20 minutes before the party is due to start and that other guests arrive no more than 10 minutes early.
I'm bringing my own party food. Can I use your fridge?
The Chocolate Shed fridge has a very important role in all our events: it is essential for cooling chocolate masterpieces so they can safely go home with their creators.  We will do our best to make space available for your party food but this is at the discretion of The Chocolate Shed party host(ess) and depends on the size of your event.
What is in the party bag?
Our special 'The Chocolate Shed' party bags (for which there is an extra small cost) contain a pot of fun chocolate shapes (from Henley Chocolates), a special 'The Chocolate Shed' activity sheet, a fun family-friendly, chocolate recipe card and an eco-ball point pen!

The chocolates made during the workshop will be taken home by each child in a card box (included as standard in our parties).  Many parents opt to add a slice of birthday cake to this box.  ​
I'd like a Chocolate Shed party close to where I live.
Sadly we are unable to host this workshop off-site.
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can you accomodate children with additional needs
Chocolate creating is an inclusive activity and as a team The Chocolate Shed is committed to sharing the fun with children (and adults) of all abilities and needs.  In order for us to make appropriate adaptations (if necessary) please discuss specific needs when booking.  If a child (or children) need a carer to assist them then this is certainly possible, space allowing.  (Our venue can only comfortably host 14 people in total.)
I'm not sure how many children will be able to attend yet.
It is relatively easy for us to add or reduce the numbers attending your child's party and adjust your invoice accordingly.  If unsure, we recommend making a booking based on our minimum numbers (8 for Bespoke Bars!) and letting us know 14-7 days before the event if more children are attending.  Read here for more details.
What happens next?
After completing our birthday party booking/inquiry form, one of our team will be in touch to confirm possible dates and times with you and answer any outstanding questions you may have.  This person will be your point of reference throughout the booking and you can contact them by email at any time.
Once you are happy, we ask for a 25% deposit to be paid to secure your booking; the remaining balance is due 7 days prior to your event.  Full terms and conditions can be found here.
After your booking is confirmed we will send you our birthday party invitation template and a health and safety form.  We ask that the adult responsible for all those attending your event to complete this form. This is just to ensure that our staff are aware of any relevant medical conditions and allergies so that your session is safe as well as fun.
You may find information on these pages helpful:
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