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In the remote Burren Hills, chocolatier Kasha Connolly has turned a family baking heritage into a small-batch, bean-to-bar business that doubles as a storytelling venue. Her Hazel Mountain Chocolate factory and YouTube series Food For Stories blend seasonal cooking, local producers and personal conversations — the third season is scheduled for release on 31 May.
A bean-to-bar operation on the Atlantic coast
Kasha opened Hazel Mountain Chocolate in the Burren Mountains more than a decade ago. For the past 11 years her workshop has produced hand-made chocolate in small batches, emphasizing craft and traceability.
The factory is deliberately open. Visitors can watch chocolatiers at work, sample truffles made on-site and join guided tours and tastings. Kasha says Hazel Mountain is unique in Ireland for allowing guests to see cocoa beans roasted on the premises.
Food, stories and a simple idea
Her YouTube programme, Food For Stories, grew from that same ethos: cooking seasonal comfort food, sharing it with guests, and listening to the stories that emerge. Episodes are filmed at Halka Lodge on Ireland’s Atlantic Way, where Kasha prepares dishes using local ingredients and then brings the meals across the yard to the factory.
The format is straightforward. The meal opens personal conversation, and the show foregrounds the people who supply those ingredients as well as the visitors who stop by from around the world.
Familiar faces, ordinary moments
Hazel Mountain has attracted a number of well-known visitors over the years, including Nicola Coughlan, Brendan Gleeson, Joe Manganiello and Julianna Margulies. The new series features guests such as Coleen Nolan, Dermot Whelan, Laura Dowling and Darragh Enni.
Kasha says the celebrity veneer quickly fades around the breakfast table. What remains, she adds, is a human connection — the plain exchange of food and memory that the show aims to capture.
Why it matters
The project combines artisanal food production with a gentle form of oral history. It also puts a spotlight on regional suppliers and the small-scale craft of chocolate-making, offering viewers an intimate view of how taste and story can reinforce one another.
If you are curious about Irish bean-to-bar chocolate or the people who make and eat it, the new season of Food For Stories promises more of both.
