“I have always been a fan of chocolate. As a child I would often spend my pocket money on a Dairy Crunch bar or a Curly Wurly,” says Margaret Sims.

She has what would be many people's dream job.

Together with her husband, Richard, Margaret is the owner of the Norfolk Truffle Company, producing hand-made chocolate truffles at a small unit in Brooke, south of Norwich.

Their range of gourmet artisan dark, milk and white chocolates includes cherry and amaretto (a Great Taste Award winner), tiramisu, maple pecan, champagne, salted caramel, cappuccino, gin and lemon, whisky mac, strawberries and cream and Christmas pudding.

They also make bespoke chocolates and gifts for weddings and special occasions.

Back in 2005, Margaret was working as an accountant for another local chocolate truffle manufacturer, Booja-Booja.

It added up to a sweet new career.

“When the owner decided to sell the ‘Norfolk Truffles’ part of his business, I took the opportunity to buy it, " she says.

It was a big leap into the unknown, because at that point, Margaret had no chocolate-making experience at all.

She did, however, have a brilliant mentor.

“Fortunately for me, there was a lovely lady who had been making the truffles for several years and she was able to teach me everything I needed to know, and when I took over at the beginning of 2006, she continued to work with me until her retirement a few years later," says Margaret.

“I haven’t had any formal training as a chocolatier, as truffle-making is the only thing I know, but I do get plenty of practice, as I make them pretty much every day,” she says.

As Margaret explains, the truffles start with the basic ingredients of milk, white or dark chocolate.

“And coconut oil, which is really easy to work with and gives the truffle mix a lovely smooth consistency,” she says.

Then it’s time for the flavourings to be added.

“The flavouring ingredients, such as champagne, fruits, nuts etc, are blended in, and each truffle is rolled by hand. It is then coated, in either two layers of smooth chocolate, or in chocolate flakes,” says Margaret.

Making a luxury product, it’s important that the ingredients are of the highest quality.

Margaret uses Belgian chocolate, which is bought directly from the manufacturer.

“Most other ingredients come from specialist suppliers, but I do buy some things such as coffee and spirits from local companies if possible,” she says.

And she loves getting creative and coming up with new and different flavour combinations.

“My favourite flavours at the moment are probably salted caramel and whisky and ginger, but I often change my mind – I like them all really,” she says.

“The number of flavours I make seems to be growing all the time – new ones are often suggested by customers, but Richard is also very good at coming up with ideas to try."

And perfecting the recipes is definitely a perk of the job.

“I usually start with an existing recipe that I think is closest to what I want to achieve, and build from there,” she says.

“It can take several goes to get the balance right, but it’s fun to experiment.”

Margaret’s favourite part of truffle-making is coating the smooth ones. It sounds quite meditative.

“It’s very satisfying to see them all sitting in neat rows on the trays, ready to be packed away in boxes," says Margaret.

“My least favourite part is the clearing up at the end of the day, which seems to take forever,” she laughs.

“I also really like selling directly to the public at markets and fairs, and it’s always lovely to see regular customers coming back for more. One of the highlights is hearing how much pleasure people get from my products, which makes all the effort worthwhile.”

It may be surprising to hear that despite spending her life surrounded by chocolate, Margaret is as much a fan as she has always been.

“I’ve always liked milk chocolate best, and working with chocolate every day hasn’t put me off eating it at all,” she says.

Norfolk Truffles are available to buy from Carousel Chocolates in Aylsham and from The Chocolate Box in Sheringham. They are also on sale in the farm shops in Brooke, Woodton and North Walsham.

In Suffolk they are sold at the Halesworth Florist and Greengrocers and Margaret has a stall at the farmers’ market at Beccles Airfield, on the first and third Saturday of every month.

To find out more visit norfolktruffles.co.uk