Terry's Chocolate Oranges gonks get a Valentine's makeover

Chelle Holmes from Huntington in York amassed thousands of followers on Facebook and chalked up hundreds of pounds of sales for cake decorators around the world when she shared her passion and skills in decorating Terry's Chocolate Oranges in the run up to Christmas.

And now she is doing the same ahead of Valentine's Day with the likes of a love-themed teddy bear and bumble bee - all made from fondant icing sculpted over a Terry's Chocolate Orange.

Valentine's teddy and gonk by Chelle Holmes of York

It follows the success of festive designs such as Santa-like gonks, which took the internet by storm in the run-up to Christmas.

On her Facebook page, Terry's Chocolate Orange Decorating UK, Chelle shared videos and tips on how to decorate Chocolate Oranges in a variety of designs and styles - including turning them into well known celebrities and characters.

Terry's Chocolate Oranges were turned into gnome-like gonks, unicorns, Minnie Mouse and film stars such as Sean Connery and Leonardo Di Caprio as well as a Peaky Blinder.

Christmas Terry's Chocolate Orange gonks

Many of Chelle's followers were able to sell their creations at £10 a go - earning a steady stream of income during the pandemic. Several told her it had "saved" Christmas for them.

For her creativity and generosity in helping others, Chelle, who runs Holmes Made Cakes, is this week's Trader of The Week.

She was nominated by a Press reader who said Chelle was "amazing" because she "helped other people make money by showing how to videos online for free" and added that she also "works hard with Kitchens For Everyone, York. Amazing lady".

So it is a well-deserved honour. If you would like to nominate a trader of the week, click here to fill out our online form.

Bee Mine Terry's Chocolate Orange - close-up

For Valentine's Day, Chelle has shared her latest creations: a Valentine's teddy bear, a love-heart gonk and a bumble bee with the message: "Bee mine!".

She said her Facebook group - which now has more than 13,000 members from all across the world - were clamouring for new ideas as soon as Christmas was over.

She added: "The new year started with people desperate for Valentine's designs and a shortage of Terry's Chocolate Oranges in shops.

"When they were in stock they were between £2 and £3.50 when we usually get them for £1. Luckily they are appearing in large quantities again and at £1 - so panic over."

Group members have been sharing their creative designs too, says Chelle.

"In the group, there have been lots of roses, but what caught my eye the most was a cute naked Valentine's gonk by Lisa Potter. I thought I was tired of seeing them, but not this one!"

And there is no letting up - Easter is just a few weeks away!

Chelle said: "We are excited for Easter because it's going to be filled with cute bunnies and all those pastel colours we love."

Meanwhile, Chelle will be running a serious of chocolate and cake decorating tutorials on her Facebook page, including on how to make chocolate bombs.

If you know a business person going the extra mile, don't forget to nominate them as our next trader of the week: yorkpress.co.uk/trader/