The chocolate connoisseur is as astute, sensuously sophisticated and esoteric as the wine buff:  this is certainly what Louis Barnett believes.  “Chocolate is the most diverse ingredient on the planet” he affirms, which gives it one up on the wine, which might be good for the health with its antioxidant qualities, but is, for most people, merely a good old plonk to accompany the much more important food.
Not only is he a specialist, a true passion monger, but he is one of the most celebrated young entrepreneurs to be found in Britain today.  So successful and lauded is he that he has become an ambassador for Shropshire Enterprise, and is involved in delivering inspirational and educational speeches to young people, all with the aim of igniting the flame of innovation.
But where did it all start?  There is no way to mould an entrepreneur; it is commonly acknowledged that business insight and foresight cannot be taught.  But there are certain credentials which, maybe coincidentally, seem to have predisposed some of the UK’s most prominent people in the business community to great success.  Like Richard Branson, Louis is dyslexic, and was never very studious, through enforcement rather than laziness.   Academia was an education that did not suit him, and he left school at the age of 11.  This turned out to be a very sagacious decision on his parents’ part, for it forced Louis to learn by experience.  Perhaps it was as a result of this very practical and physically dynamic turn to his life that perspectives changed, and ideas were allowed to flow.  He worked with birds of prey, and became so talented at handling the animals that he was soon trusted to give public demonstrations.
It was just an average end to the day when the Belgian chocolate cake book caught his eye, but this average day was the start of something extraordinary. What he made by following the recipes from this book were so enthusiastically received that he became the commissioned baker for the immediate community -  particularly amongst ladies of a certain age.
For any occasion, the “young man” was called in to do the job.  But rather than remain a Harry Enfield-esque parody of older-woman fantasies, Louis researched how to turn hobby into business success.  The result was the ‘chocolates in the chocolate- box’ which hit the UK by storm this Christmas.
For every innovator there has to be a facilitator, and Louis is very keen to stress his pride and faith in the Callebout Chocolate Academy, based in Banbury near Oxford.  Not only did he hone his skills at the Academy, but Louis’ potential was recognised by the firm, which led to a long-term sponsorship deal.
Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall must be very proud.   Whilst Louis does not stand alongside Hugh in the car park of Axminster Tesco demonstrating the appalling conditions of battery chicken farming methods, or call parents who feed their children junk food “arseholes and tossers,” as Jamie Oliver so honestly puts it, he is equally afflicted by the ethical bug.  He is a ‘Fair-Trade eco greenie man’, and is proud to be identified as such.
Now he is on the campaign trail.   His latest initiative is a lobby against the Department of Trade and Industry, in tandem with the Sumatran Orang-utan Society (SOS), to reclassify palm oil.   Under current legislation, palm oil is in the same category as vegetable oil, which misleads consumers into believing that palm oil is an unsaturated fat.  It is the unsaturated nature of vegetable oils that makes them healthier, and is the reason why olive oil characterises the enviable longevity and supple complexions of Mediterranean folk.
Palm oil is saturated; it is as grizzly and heart-threatening as the very worst pork scratchings.  Perhaps even worse, however, is the knock-on effect of its widespread usage.  Besides being a common ingredient in confectionary products, it is used under false pretences as a bio fuel in industry.  In fact, the removal of the carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange capabilities of the rain forest that is lost to provide space for plantations, along with the carbon dioxide that is released from the burning of the oil, leads to a net increase in carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Palm oil plantations are found predominantly in Indonesia and Malaysia, where the rainforest is felled at a rate of 300 football pitches’ area every day to accommodate the palm oil plants.   This geographical area is also the only remaining habit for the Sumatran orang-utan and, predictably, the growth of the plantations means the demise of the orang-utans.
Of the latest products, to be released on the 29th February, is a chocolate bar with a radical remit.  It is being marketed along with the SOS, and will growl at the DTI and inspire support for the campaign to save the orang-utans, and their increasingly reducing habitat, which is the most biologically diverse in the world.
SOS is also keen to stress the associated community benefits of ecological awareness and preservation.  It works with local people to promote the preservation of forest habitat, assists local government in the maintenance of protected areas, and supports community education and development programmes.