Cocoa Joe to feature on ITV's Ainsley's Good Mood Food show

Cocoa Joe’s is a unique cafe, selling specialist drinks based on 14 different chocolate varieties - and owner Joe Andrew will feature on Ainsley Harriot's new TV show on Saturday.

The programme, Ainsley’s Good Mood Food, will be shown on ITV at 11.40am.

Cocoa Joe’s opened in York last year in Museum Street, in the former Demijohn shop.

Ainsley’s Good Mood Food is a celebration of food that boosts your mood and is hosted by star chef Ainsley Harriot.

On Saturday, the programme will feature a visit to Cocoa Joe’s cafe by Ainsley’s co-presenter, chef Joe Carey, to experience how to take hot chocolate to the next level and invent a new ‘special’ based on tiramisu.

Joe Andrew of Cocoa Joe and TV chef Joe Carey at the filming in York for Ainsley's Good Mood Food

Joe Andrew said “It was a real honour to be selected to be involved. They could see how we are trying to do something really special here and enjoyed tasting the differences between our single origin chocolates and seeing how that carries through to create unique hot and iced chocolate drinks.

"We also combine chocolate with other flavours to make our specials, so we experimented with chef Joe and developed a tiramisu hot chocolate for him."

"It’s been a real adventure starting up this business during all the uncertainty of Covid, especially as we’re trying to do something quite unique here. We have a simple philosophy which is to do one thing, but to be the very best at it. In the end, there’s nothing better than hearing all the feedback our customers have been giving us.”

Joe originally tested the idea with a small shop-cafe in Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale before moving on to open a second shop in York, fulfilling his original ambition.

His hot chocolate drinks are made directly from any one of the 14 specialist chocolates, mainly single origin, and all really high in cocoa content (even up to 100 per cent).

Each drink is unique and takes on the characteristics of the particular, specialist chocolate used to make it.

Specialist hot chocolate and drinks and treats at Cocoa Joe

Joe, a University of York graduate, said the cafe took the experience and appreciation of hot chocolate to a new level and added: "We never use pre-packaged powder, only pieces of exceptional chocolate from all around the world. Each drink is made to order using our refined techniques to ensure a delicious taste and velvety texture without the need for any artificial additives.”

He said customers were usually encouraged to sample different single-origin chocolates before choosing which one they would like transformed into a drink, whether a classic hot chocolate, an iced hot chocolate for warmer days, or combined with a fresh double espresso for a mocha.