THE House of Dorchester headquarters is not your average factory. The industrial smells are not of grease or chemicals; there are few computer screens blinking away monotonously in the background. For here they forge magical creations from chocolate.

The kitchen was awash with the zesty scent of sugary lemon. In the main factory swirling melted chocolate gushed around in vats while chunks of the stuff greet the eye at every turn. Even the floor sweepings would sate most appetites as people sweep up scatterings of grated and solidified melted chocolate crumbs into a pile to be thrown away.

Things are going well for the county town chocolatiers. Plans are afoot for an extension to cope with the increasing demand and they have got a new range coming out - and all this despite people's diets getting healthier. But it does not mean the team can rest on their laurels. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"We review recipes all the time," said development manager Matt Tannon.

"Attitudes to food are changing all the time and we're constantly reacting to consumer demand.

"We've generally been trying to make improvements wherever possible, no artificial colours or flavours, and we've been trying to phase out hydrogenated fat."

Matt explained that hydrogenated fats - the subject of a recent campaign to remove them from food in this country because of apparent negative health repercussions - is fat that has had hydrogen added to it to make it solid.

"It's really hard to take it out of confectionery unless you use real butter, but then the shelf-life's a nightmare. But we're trying."

Matt has worked for the company for just a year and in that time he has come up with a new range of treats that are to be launched in June.

Those behind the company - that classes itself at the premium end of the chocolate world - want to make themselves known more. For years now the company has been sold under other names with all sorts of groups and businesses using House of Dorchester products to sell as their own. So now they are eager to build up a name for themselves and there has never been a better time to do so with people's tastes the way they are at the moment, Matt said.

"What may have once been seen as a speciality product - for instance, chocolate with 70 per cent cocoa solids - is being appreciated by a wider audience.

"Sales of counter chocolate have gone down and I think when people decide to have a treat they are prepared to pay a bit extra for it and have something really good.

"10 years ago having 70 per cent cocoa solids was considered very sophisticated. But it's not anymore."

Matt is pretty nervous about the launch of the new range. If it goes well 'it's brilliant' but if it does not 'then that's not so good'.

He seems to have taken a chance with his ideas. Three new selections make up the new range and one in particular is a brave move - a coffee selection. They are not coffee chocolates how most would know them - the ones always left over - but based on real coffee in a nod to the emerging British coffee culture. There's a cappuccino one, espresso, latte and Americano. They taste delicious and there's little chance of them sitting dejectedly at the bottom of the chocolate box.

Authenticity seems to be the house's ethos since the beginning. The business started in 1963 when Richard and Christine Ungaretti moved to the county town for their retirement. When they realised they were not ready to hang up their tools just yet they opened a confectionery shop in town. And when they could not find decent enough chocolate to sell in the shop they decided to make their own.

The company grew, making chocolates for a multitude of retailers including annual commemorative presentations for Buckingham Palace. But until 1995 the chocolates were always for the retailers to sell with their own logo so House of Dorchester was little known about. But that changed and now they are slowly gaining recognition without losing track of their roots.

"We still make centres for the chocolates in the kitchen from scratch," explained Matt. "We put them in trays and cut them up by hand."

As he explained, people were busy in the kitchen working on different products. Kevin Greening was piping violet fondant fillings into moulds at an impressive speed. Sarah Toop was mixing up the mixture for the lemon meringue filling that involved lemon oil and meringue pieces and paste.

They have 130 different types of individual chocolates and make 44,000 chocolates every day but it is not so much of a mechanised process. Humans are still very much part of the production process, as Kevin Greening proves with his record for pumping violet cream fondant fillings.

As for the future, the company hopes to continue building up its name. Its wares have been hidden underneath the labels of other retailers and now, with Matt's fresh perspective, it hopes to put the county town on the map.

"These are definitely exciting times," said Matt.