Hazel Mountain Chocolates in The Burren

A real treat in the foothills of the Burren is Hazel Mountain Chocolates, a quirky cafe with gluten free cakes and pastries in a 1950s cottage fronting a state-of-the-art bean-to-bar stone-ground chocolate factory. Founded by Burren walking tour guide John Connolly and his wife Kasha who comes from a baking family, it has been voted one of Ireland's top 10 food attractions and it's easy to see why. John explains that the process of making chocolate from beans imported from Cuba, Venezuela and Madagascar is extremely long and arduous but the quality results speak for themselves. You can buy bars made with seaweed, vanilla, lemon and rhubarb (€5.50 each) or handmade truffles in the shop where Kasha's book Burren Wild Baker is on sale. (She's giving a one-day baking course on July 18th) hazelmountainchocolate.com