- Established
- 1948
- Owners
- Alice and William Crone
- Based in
- Hove, East Sussex
- Craft
- Chocolate and confectionery
The Local’s perspective
A Hove chocolate story
There is more to Audrey’s than a familiar name above a shop door. This Hove chocolatier brings together filled chocolates, bars and playful chocolate figures, with handwork at the heart of its identity.
Founded in 1948, Audrey’s has passed through successive hands while keeping its connection to the Sussex coast. Today, William and Alice Crone are shaping its next chapter: preserving the character of the business while bringing fresh attention to its chocolate, presentation and range.
The story
A new chapter, with craft at its centre
William and Alice acquired Audrey’s in 2024. Their approach has included a rebrand, expanded packing and fulfilment operations, and a move to Valrhona couverture.
Couverture is the chocolate a chocolatier works with to create finished confections. At Audrey’s, the craft continues through work such as moulding, filling, dipping and decorating. The skill lies in what the team makes from that starting point: the balance of a filling, the finish of a shell and the details that give each chocolate its character.
The maker’s photographs offer a close look at that work, from caramel in a copper pan to fruit creams piped into starch moulds and chocolates finished by hand.
The people
Meet Alice and William
Alice and William are Audrey’s current owners and custodians, rather than its original founders. Alice’s work as Creative and Product Director brings together the range, packaging and the way customers encounter the brand.
Their next chapter is about continuity as well as change. Alongside developing the range, Audrey’s says it has introduced an apprenticeship scheme to help pass chocolate-making skills to a new generation.
Inside the making
Making use of the imperfect
Audrey’s Perfectly Imperfect selection gives another home to chocolates that do not meet the presentation standards for its regular boxes. The team describes a mixture that can include offcuts, broken pieces and other chocolates unsuitable for the main selections, offered at a lower price.
It is a specific, practical part of the business’s approach to reducing waste: recognising that appearance and enjoyment are not always the same thing.
Our recommendation
Our pick: Milk 38% Sea Salt Bar
Sometimes a simple combination is the most persuasive. Audrey’s Milk 38% Sea Salt Bar was Tommy’s standout: rich milk chocolate with enough salt to sharpen the flavour without taking over.
“The balance is absolutely spot on. It’s one of the best chocolate bars I’ve tried in a long time.”
— Tommy, The Local
At 75g, it is a small indulgence with a strong sense of occasion. We would choose it as a thoughtful little gift—or keep it for ourselves.
Also tried: Dark 62% Bar
The 75g Dark 62% Bar offers a different kind of pleasure. In our tasting, the cacao character came through clearly, with depth and intensity but without the harsh bitterness that can make some dark chocolate less approachable.
Both bars felt refined and generous in flavour. The milk and sea salt was our personal favourite, rather than the winner of a formal comparison.
Why we chose Audrey’s
Heritage earns our attention; the chocolate has to keep it. With Audrey’s, the pleasure is in finding both: a Hove making story with real continuity, and bars we would happily buy again.
The Milk 38% Sea Salt Bar is the one we would start with. For someone who prefers darker chocolate, the Dark 62% Bar is an equally considered introduction.
A sense of place
Made in Hove
Audrey’s makes its chocolates at 28 Holland Road in Hove, where its shop sits alongside the chocolate-making rooms. Its connection to the Sussex coast remains part of the story.