The newly-opened Talbot & Bons outlet at Skyparks at Malta International Airport has secured representation of Giraudi, a speciality chocolatier in Piedmont, Italy.

The Giraudi family has been in business for more than a century, operating a flour mill and a bakery, but it was only in the 1960s that it started producing the chocolate for which it has now become famous.

The current owner, Giacomo Boidi, learned his trade from his two uncles, Giovanni Battista Giraudi, a chocolate manufacturer, and Paolino Boidi, a confectioner. Together, they instilled a passion in the job that is almost an art.

Director of Talbot & Bons Alan Mercieca Bons said: “Having visited the laboratorio of Giraudi, met the family and seen the high standards they have set themselves, apart from tasting their products, it is indeed an honour for the distinguished family from Piedmont to be giving their agency to Talbot & Bons.”

Amy Talbot, another director at Talbot & Bons, said: “This exciting project has now come to fruition and we look forward to reaching a whole new clientele at Malta International Airport’s Skyparks business centre before too long.”

There is a vast array of chocolates made from forms specifically designed by Giacomo Boidi, from those that look like make-up to patented designs that are produced only in his ‘laboratory’, apart from a host of seasonal offerings – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween.

Among the well-known delicacies and typical Piedmontese recipes for which Boidi is renowned are chocolate salami, Amaretti Marengo, hazelnut cake, Lady’s Kisses, Polenta di Alessandria and Giacometta, a hazelnut cream that owes its exceptional quality to a very high percentage of Piedmont hazelnuts used in its production (32 per cent) and to the careful balance between the various ingredients.