It’s the kind of place where foodie dreams are made. There is raw chocolate from exotic locations such as Ecuador, Madagascar and Tanzania lining the shelves — alongside fruits, nuts and spices.

Chocolatier Rebecca Kerswell, the creative force behind the Coco Chocolate brand, is busy at work. First she heats a bowl of milk chocolate and once it hits exactly 40c she pours it out onto a marble work top.

With two palette knives she moves the hot fragrant liquid around the marble until it cools to exactly 27c. Then she scoops it all up again in a bowl for another round of heating before pouring it out onto trays and sprinkling it with sea salt and hazelnuts.

“The high low high and the movement changes the crystallisation structure within the chocolate,” Kerswell said.

“That changing pattern gives the chocolate a really high shine and it give it the infamous snap.”

For such a romantic career Kerswell’s chocolate journey began in what she describes as a very unromantic way.

She knew she wanted to create a product after graduating from university and narrowed it down to either chocolate or olive oil.

After finding out that the beauty in olive oil is not doing anything to it at all she decided it had to be chocolate.

She learned her craft in France at the exclusive Valrhona school and went on to found the first Coco store in Edinburgh in 2004. Within three years Coco was taken on by the Harvey Nichols group as one of their flagship chocolate brands and she became the head chocolatier for their signature bars.

But it was the inner Aussie in her son Finlay that prompted the move back home.

“My son didn’t like wearing clothes yet it was freezing,” she said.

“He was the only boy walking around Edinburgh in tights because he couldn’t pull them off.

“I thought this is ridiculous — I could be in Sydney.”

The family returned to Sydney and once her daughter Alice was almost two years old she decided to launch in Australia. She imported all her stock from Edinburgh for the opening of the Coco Chocolate shop in Kirribilli and then the search was on for her new kitchen.

She found the perfect place in Middle Head with a grassy lawn for her children to play on and a view over Sydney Harbour.

Alongside making all her chocolate there the building is also home to her Sydney Chocolate School. Since it opened four years ago she has trained more than 15,000 people in the art of making chocolate.

And her most famous graduate popped in for a class during her world tour last year.

“Adele had a blast,” she said.

“She certainly likes chocolate and she didn’t hold back. She is thoroughly down to earth and a really lovely person.”

Kerswell managed to keep her visit under wraps and Adele was thrilled that the paparazzi didn’t know she was there. The singer was able to relax at the front door of the school and enjoy the scenery and chocolate.

“She wanted us to keep her anonymity which we did far too well because no one got a photo.

“She loved being able to stand at the chocolate school and look out at the harbour and say ‘I can’t believe you’ve made this so I can do this’.

“There wasn’t a photographer in sight. It was nice to be able to achieve that.”

Kerswell’s passion for chocolate is infectious. She has the dream job that works well with her young family and allows her to be creative.

It is tough physical work making batches of chocolate and during the peak seasons of Christmas, Valentines and Easter she can put in up to 18 hours a day.

But when it calms down she describes being a chocolatier as a gorgeous life with the added bonus of being able to eat the profits.

“You will never be rich being a chocolatier but you will have a lovely job,” she said.

“One of the reasons I love the kitchen so much is because my children can come and they will be up a tree and it will be like the olden days.

“It’s the perfect thing.”