If it weren’t for Chloe Oswald’s partner Jamie, she never would have started her award-winning Angus chocolate business, Chocolatia.
Together Chloe and her partner, Jamie Butler, are an Angus food and drink power couple.
Chloe runs her chocolate empire Chocolatia, and Jamie has taken over the pizzeria The Copper Oven in Arbroath.
The couple share how they make things work, including who does the cooking, why they wouldn’t work together and the importance of having a support system at home.
How long have you been together?
Chloe: “We met in lockdown, so it was like accelerated love, you know.
“It was that weird time where we were both off so we just spent all of our time together.
“It was Jamie’s idea for me to start my business, [Chocolatia].
“He was the one who suggested that I start it.
“I like to blame him for it when things get hard.
“I was frustrated in lockdown and he said I should just start a business.
“I said don’t be stupid, I don’t even have a house. But we ended up starting a few weeks later!
“So we really started that together.
“To go through something as stressful as that, and buying a house, and getting a dog…
“We’ve been through an awful lot in such a short window of time that it’s just kind of helped help us grow.”
What do you both enjoy about working in food and drink?
Chloe: “For me, I love food and I love to eat, so working in food has always just been a way for me to get closer to food.
“I love bringing joy to people too.”
Jamie: “I gravitate towards carbs more, so pizza was a no-brainer.
“I love service and serving people, just the whole environment.”
Do you think it makes sense that one of you is sweet and the other savoury?
Chloe: “Jamie says he never liked sweet stuff much before me, but he eats an awful lot of chocolate so I don’t really believe him on that one.”
Do you do a lot of taste testing?
Jamie: “Every time I do a special, Chloe tries it.
“And every flavour that she’s really excited about, I’ll try it.
“But I’m not a super sweet, chocolatey person but I do eat a lot of chocolate being with her.”
Is it good having that at-home quality control?
Chloe: “I think so, I think it’s good.
Jamie: “Sometimes too honest!”
Chloe: “I think Jamie knows I’ll always tell him exactly what I think, whether or not he wants the constructive criticism.
“But I think it’s really useful to have someone to bash ideas off of, like flavours and textures.
“I’ll always request really random toppings on pizzas that Jamie sometimes likes, sometimes is horrified by.”
Jamie: “I think you just putting anchovies on anything.
“Anything that doesn’t need anchovies.”
How do you make time to see each other with your busy schedules?
Chloe: “We try to have at least one day off. Sundays off together as much as possible.
“It’s more difficult for me at Christmastime because I’m just manic all the time.
“In the summer, it’s a little bit easier for me to take a day off during the week, and Jamie will usually be off one of the week days, and I’ll work my week around it so I can take that off.”
Jamie: “I think for me because we have staff here as well, it’s a bit easier for me to have days off.
“Whereas Chloe is more of a one man band.”
Chloe: “Jamie used to do a lot more markets with me, so that was a good chance for us to get quality time together while we were stuck in the freezing cold.”
Who does the cooking at home?
Chloe: “When me and Jamie first moved in together, he made some really questionable dinners,” she tells me.
“There was a noodle dish that had pear in it.”
[Mishearing, I am quick to question: “Pear or hair?”]
Chloe: “Hair would have been more normal probably.
“There was pear in it. But it’s because I had told him I love pear, so he thought ‘that’s perfect, Chloe will love this’.
“So I do most of the cooking.
“I really love to cook savoury food as well.
“Whenever I can get out of my chocolate kitchen and into the home kitchen to cook, I love doing that. But you’re [Jamie is] getting much better at cooking now!”
Is there someone who gets more stressed than the other, or are you both there to keep one another calm?
Chloe: “I think we both support each other.
“But I think Jamie keeps being calm more.
“I am flappy more, though I have been known to settle Jamie down too.”
And do you ever wish you worked together?
Jamie: “No.
“We’re both control freaks, so I don’t think that would work.
“We’re too similar in that sense.”
Chloe: “We work better on our own.
“Jamie helped me loads at the start of Chocolatia, but I think he didn’t like me telling him what to do!”
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