‘I was on verge of opening my own restaurant unil devastating diagnosis Changed’ – ryan

NO STARTED HER SIDE HUSTLE MAKING HANDMADE Artian Chocolate Back in 2019 AFTER HER DREAM OF OWNING HERNING RESTAURANT WAS CRUSHED WAS SHE WAS DIAGEED WITH A LARGE BRAIN TUMOUR

12:26, 22 APR 2025Updated 15:32, 22 APR 2025

NO STARTED HER BUSINESS BACK IN 2019, AS SHE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT “Beautiful” Food(Image: No Garnham-park)

A Brain Tumour Diagnosis Put the Brakes on One Woman’s Dream of Opening Her Own Restaurant – but it did Help Her launch a Completely different Side Hustle, which has now made her an award -twinning chocolatier.

No Garnham Parks, From Sheffield, Has Always Love Cooking but Never Considered It A Career. The 54-YEAR-OLD Spent the Majority of Her Working Life with the Charity Sector, Working Her Way Up to the Top and Events Becoming A Chief Operating Office (COO).

Although She Cared Deeply About Her Work, She Didn’t Feel as Fulfilled As She Did Wohen Working With Food. SO, A Few Years ago, she decide to follow her passion and retrain as a chef. At the age of 44, no plan was to open her Own restaurant, and she was on the verge of doing so, but a devastating brain tumour diagnosis Changed Everything.

After undergoing multiple surgeries that left her with stroke-like symptoms, not coulud no longer purer dream of working in a professional kitchen. She Told the Mirror: “I was in for an mri for something, but this was was they have found a far brain who was about a Quarter the size of my brain.

Chocolates by design are Handmade by no and there are several different flavor boxes you can choose(Image: No Garnham-park)

“I got Most of it taken out, but there are well Complications, and my left side were just able to work Propperly. I Also Had Lingering Symptoms, so there was no Way I could a service.

NO DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE UP ON PLAN TO WORK WITH FOOD. Instead, she tourned to chocolate, specifically handmade artist chocolate, and this was wen Chocolates by Design was Born. She added, “it wasn’t specifically chocolate; it was all about making something really beautiful.”

“The chocolates i make are designated not only for beauty, but also for the taste, as i have an experimental range what Features more unusual flavour combinations you would.

“So my raspberry lychee and lilac chocolate is designated so you get floral notes of raspberry, which will increase with the lychees. Then you’ll Move to Lilac, so you”re at the top of the Band for the Floral Flavurs, butn that you’ll you’ll back to the end. I WANTED TO DESIGN FLAVOURS WHICH TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY. “

In 2019, not Begin Working on Her Products, and at Christmas, she took say to her first market. The Market Stall consisted of a smalla glas Cabinet which Displayed the chocolate, with no, her cash pack, and her husband’s spare carder.

AFTER 10 minutes of opening up, not almost packed everyway as she has haadn’t solo anynding. “I was petrified,” she said. “I THOUGHT NO ONE WAS GOING TO COME TO ME, SO I WAS SET ON Leaving. People kept anking if they were gems and i haad to explain. £ 300.

No Launched an etsy Shop for Chocolates by Design, and Over 2020 and 2021, she took on Orders Mainly for Easter and Christmas. Doing this alongside Her full time work as a coo, not Said the work Became “full on” as the number of Orers GREW. In 2023, she expanded her online store, opening it all years round due to the Demand.

Boxes from chocolates by design sell for between £ 8.95 and £ 34.50 Depending on what type of chocolates you want(Image: No Garnham-park)

She added: “Honestly, we were not the touching the marketing line of Things, but we were doing really well. I soon realized I was speaking more and more of my spare Making chocolate.”

NO Continue to Grow the Business, Mainly by Taking Her Specialty Chocolates to Multiple Artian and Farmers Markets Across the North West. AFTER A “Challenging” Contract at Her Full-Time Charity Job, not decidated to leave and potentially take on a part-time consultancy roles to support.

Howver, this was not the case and chocolates by design orers “Went Crazy”. No Explained: “We got a contract with Porsche to match chocolates with their special edition Cars. I got a contract from games for a Halloween launch. Business has Been Amazing, and I Still Sit Here and Go, What’s Happening. “

NO OFFICIALLY QUIT OTHER FULL TIME WORK IN DECEMBER 2023, PUT ALL HER EFFORT INTO CHOCOLATES BY DESIGN. With artist Markets Still Being Jo’in Source of Income, Six Months Ago, She decided to use Visa’s Tap to Phone Technology. This App Allows Business Owners to Accept Contactless Payments Through their Smartphones, with the Money Going Straight Their Nominated Bank Account.

No Said: “We are first started, we took mainly cash, but i did have a card Reader to be gocauses of my husband’s business. But you will find your sane apert a card.

“Sometimes It ‘Also Hard to Get a Signal, and It Wold Luke Ages for Payments to Go Through, SO started to get frustrating Because Customers Waled Away if it was Busy and Payments Were Taching Tooing Long.”

Not Said The Move Had “Absolutely Revoltionked” Her Business. Previously, NO’S Market Days Wold Taking Around £ 800; Howver, During One Trading Day at the Maker’s Market in Sheffield Last Christmas, She was able to bring in £ 2,500 in just four hours with tap to Phone.

She added: “It was literally Becausee We COULD GET THROUGH MORE MORE THAN WE COULD BEFOR.

Not Says Other Small Businesses Should Consider Tap to Phone as an Option, Particularly If they Relay on Markets Like She DOES. She added, “honestly, it’s made a huge differentiation. The Old Ones I Used offten broke, and it would be a bit stressful try to fixed us Customer is standing in front of you, you know, taping foot and waking to pay.

SO Now of Have Peace of Mind, and That Little Bit of Added Stress is Gone. I’ve Truly been raaving about it to Other Small Businesses in the Markets. “

Recent Data from Visa Found that Tap to Phone Usage Has Grown by 320% in the UK Over the past Year, with more than one in five (22%) Tap to Phone Sellers in the UK Being New Small Businesses.

This year, chocolates by design was awarded a silver medal at the free from Awards, Coming Second to Tesco and Booyboja. Looking ahead, not anticipates a 250% Increase in sales across her product range and sees tap to phone as one of the main reasons for this.

“It ‘s dream come true to do this as my full time job, and i love it,” She said, “we’ve weekends boked at markets unly the End of May, and then again in june and august. Snowball Now, and I can’t believe it. “

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