VISITING a small secluded spot of Merretts Mill in Woodchester last week, SNJ reporter Jamie Wiseman found himself in chocolate heaven.

Tucked away in a small kitchen, the artisan chocolatiers Hellerstein and Costèllo are hand crafting their very own luxury truffles.

Husband and wife duo, Ori Hellerstein and Yvonne Costèllo are the masterminds behind the small but growing business, which launched in September 2014.

Their sublime truffles are made using only the finest ingredients to create the perfect sensory experience, which are sold to high-end retailers in the UK.

In his kitchen Merrett's Mill, Woodchester, Ori hand crafts four different flavour truffles; sea salt and caramel, hazelnut praline, orange and dark chocolate and raspberry and coconut, all of which tantalise the taste buds.

Expertly trained in a range of illustrious restaurants and hotels in the capital, Ori first opened his company The Artisan Baker, but chose to specialise in truffles in 2014, creating the new brand – Hellerstein and Costèllo.

After their launch at a luxury food fayre in London, the family company have had huge success, now being stocked in Harrods and being featured in January's 2015's edition of British Vogue.

Ori and Yvonne, who live in Painswick with their newborn son, said: “Growing the business from scratch has been a challenge, especially with arrival of our son, but also really rewarding.

“Our dream is to create a huge range of different flavours of truffles and eventually supply to high end retailers around the world.”

The couple are hoping to bring out a cookbook called The Artisan Baker in time for Christmas, featuring Ori’s unique recipes for cakes, coffee and savoury sweets.

Their luxury truffles are available from a number of shops in the area including Maggie’s and Made in Stroud.

They can also be bought online at costelloandhellerstein.co.uk/