Chocs away in Southwark Street

Today's Guardian profiles the people behind the success of the Menier Chocolate Factory:

David Babani and Danielle Tarento vividly remember the first time they walked into the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark. Derelict since the 1980s, the building had been converted into a theatre and gallery by its arts-loving landlord, but was still in a very rough state. "It was Christmas-time 2003," says Babani, "and the landlord made the mistake of leaving me on my own for an hour. It was a ghost-town, but I could see the humungous potential." Babani was a jetsetting producer on a brief trip back to London; Tarento was running a restaurant in Notting Hill. "I walked into the building," she recalls, "and said, 'I don't want to leave.'"