THE York mum behind the craze for decorating Terry's Chocolate Orange with whacky designs says it has changed her life.
Last Christmas, Chelle Holmes made the headlines for setting up a Facebook group offering tutorials on how to turn the festive favourite - a Terry's Chocolate Orange (TCO) - into everything from a Santa-like gonk to characters from film and TV, including Leonardo Di Caprio.
Read more: Teesside Airport’s outdoor viewing area will close for good next week
The York mum of two from Huntington, who runs a cake making business, went viral on social media and soon had 10,000 members of her Facebook group, Terry's Chocolate Orange and Cake Decorating UK.
One year on, and she now has 17,500 members of the group - from all across the world.
And Chelle says making the TCOs has changed her life.
She told The Press: "Yes they have changed my life loads. I'm teaching online now to people all over the world and I have been invited to Cake International to demonstrate there, which is a huge honour." And she is busy this year decorating TCOs with new designs.
READ MORE: Remember when Terry's made a Chocolate Apple?
"I'm making around 100 this year. I'm selling them from my Facebook business page which is Holmes Made Cakes York. They are £10 each.
"My business has changed massively in the past year.
"It's been crazy but so lovely!"
Chelle reveals the lengths she goes to in order to snap up TCOs.
"The TCOs are always around £1, sometimes you'll spot a lucky offer. Morisson's recently sold them for 75p; I was up at 5.30am to get there for 6am when when opened so I could grab them for this year's Christmas designs."
This year, she is still making gonks, but also selling a new polar bear design which she demonstrated at Cake International this year.
She said: "I'm always doing new designs. I've also done Imaginary Iggy from the McDonald's advert, a reindeer, and a Christmas tree."
Gonks - ornamental gnome-like creatures - became a sought-after Christmas decoration and toy after celebrities such as Stacey Solomon and social media influencer and cleaning guru Mrs Hinch shared photos of their favourites on the internet.
Talented cake decorators use coloured icing to craft the gonks and other designs over their Chocolate Oranges. Many go on to sell them for about £10 a time, making it a good business, which many creators run from home.
Although receiving a Terry's Chocolate Orange at Christmas may seem a British tradition, people are making these gonks across the world, including in Australia and the US.
Besides Christmas, TCOs are also decorated for other occasions such as Valentine's Day and Easter, said Chelle.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Share