Under the Radar:  'Wild, radical work" is how the Bridgestone Guide described the chocolate-making abilities of Emily Sandford and her sister Sarah Hehir who run Cocoa Bean Artisan Chocolates.

"The very model of an artisan industry, Cocoa Bean produce dazzling work, offered with dazzling presentation, work that fuses inspiration and intuition, side by side," enthused the 2007 edition of the guide.

It is some praise for the two women who just five years ago started experimenting with dark chocolate in a little kitchen in their house in Limerick.

"We started in the same way that a lot of small confectionery businesses start - in our kitchen, making chocolates for friends and families for gifts. They proved very popular so we started producing them for Limerick farmers' market which is a great outlet for small food businesses to do market research and experiment a little bit."

A chocolate-laden kitchen is some people's idea of heaven.

"Chocolate hell more like," laughs Sandford. "Sarah had a newborn baby at the time and I can remember Friday nights before the market on the Saturday morning and the baby would be awake and we would be trying to make Turkish delight at one o'clock in the morning.

"It was hard work and chaotic, so it was an absolute relief when we were able to make it more professional and move into a specialised workshop."

That was in 2003 and they haven't looked back since. It gave them scope to expand the business and move beyond the market to upmarket delicatessens, restaurants and hotels.

It is the flavours, ingredients, textures and combinations, though, together with funky packaging, that has the foodies raving about Cocoa Bean. Lime zest and black pepper, dark chocolate infused with Norway Spruce pine needles and Christmas spices, sea salt flavoured chocolate and gin and tonic chocolate bars are par for the course.

"What is fantastic about chocolate is that it is very amenable to different flavours," Sandford says. "It treads a fine line between being sweet and savoury. It is really adaptable and it is an interesting base to work with and more and more people are willing to experiment nowadays with how far you can push it.

"We say it's chocolate for thrill seekers. It's for people looking for something a little bit different."

Such a willingness to experiment may be down to the fact that they have no training in the business of chocolate making.

"We had no culinary background, just a passion for food and an obsession with chocolate," says Sandford.

She took something of a scenic route to becoming a chocolatier - from England's northeast via a drama and media studies course in Manchester, a stint teaching before settling in Ireland and eventually setting up Cocoa Bean.

Earlier this year, the sisters moved the business to Co Kerry to join forces with another artisan chocolate company, Skelligs Chocolate. By bringing the two distinct but complementary ranges of chocolate together, Sandford says they can offer an unparalleled choice to chocolate lovers.

"Cocoa Bean is sort of the contemporary and innovative brand whereas the Skelligs brand is the traditional aspect of the chocolate, but both are high quality and both handmade in the similar artisan traditions. They complement each other well while offering our delicatessen customers a really wide range of different products."

The chocolate-making process remains the same though. Sandford describes it as "ludicrously handmade".

"When you say you hand make chocolates, I don't think people imagine we do it to the extent we do," she says. "Everything is handmade and hand-packaged. The only machines are the ones that keep the chocolate liquid and moving. There is no automation. We have to work like chefs we make things in small batches."

That means the chocolates are pretty exclusive and are found in the Avocas, Morton's and Cavistons of this world, rather than in your average high-street multiple.

However the company is also doing a roaring business in the Skelligs factory shop, as well as in a number of exclusive and boutique hotels. It also has a thriving mail-order service and is in the process of setting up an online shop.

"But the concept remains the same: fantastic quality, interestingly flavoured brightly packaged chocolate," says Sandford. "We always had confidence in it but it is really pleasing when it goes to plan."

ON THE RECORD

Name:Emily Sandford

Age:27

Family:Married with one daughter, Lola.

Background:originally from the northeast of England, completed drama and media studies at the University of Manchester followed by graduate teacher training course.

Moved to Limerick with her sister Sarah in 2001 and settled there in 2002. Moved to Kerry earlier this year when Cocoa Bean joined forces with Skelligs

Admires:Gerard Coleman of London-based chocolate firm L'Artisan du Chocolat as well as her new business partner, Colm Healy of Skelligs Chocolates.

Most likes to:Cook and watch Peppa Pig with her daughter, Lola.

Name:Sarah Hehir

Age:33

Background:Originally from near Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire. Moved to Ireland in the early 1990s where she set up Cocoabean chocolates with her sister. She is now living in Rochester, near London, where she is concentrating on marketing and research and developing the UK sales of Cocoabean chocolates.

Most likes to:As a mother of two young children, Esme (5) and Elsie (1), she has little free time but has recently started writing.