IT MUST be the sweetest road in Sussex – if not the whole country.

Duke Street in Brighton already has some of the biggest names in the game, with the likes of Hotel Chocolat, Julien Plumart and Montezuma’s – and they are now joined by Be Chocolat by Michel Clement.

The new family-run shop aims to give chocoholics to a unique insight into what they are eating.

It is run by Michel Clement, his wife Titus Laline, their daughter Gina and her husband James Sutton.

They make their chocolate fresh every day in house. They prepare it in the window and have customers salivating before they even go inside.

Michel, from Belgium, owned a business in Barcelona before setting up shop in Bali, where he retired four years ago.

But the 64-year-old chocolatier missed his trade and worked on a new concept to woo his market.

Michel said: “The most important thing is the quality production. Every day it is made fresh.

“Making it in house means you can get direct feedback from customers. Before we worked in factories and you could never get it like that. With this model, the customer gets what they want – people can give their opinions.”

James and Michel whip the delicacies up together, with James making it at the window.

All the chocolate is vegan-friendly and gluten-free, with high-quality cocoa shipped in from Indonesia, Ghana and Sao Tome, and the packaging for the luxury treats is handmade from recycled waste paper.

James, 27, was taught the art by Michel and he wants to offer customers an experience they will remember.

He said: “A lot of other chocolatiers keep things a secret and don’t tell everything. We want to show our customers we make everything fresh every day.

“If you come in and say you want this chocolate with this ingredient, for example dark with nuts, we’ll make it for you. We can customise anything.”

James said they were not competing with other chocolate shops, saying they “can’t be compared” because of the style differences. He said: “I’ve met other owners and they are lovely. We’re not competing.”

Be Chocolat also caters for events such as weddings and birthdays.

Gina Laline, co-owner of Be Chocolat by Michel Clement in Duke Street, said: “Everyone thought we were mental opening in Duke Street because of the other shops. We knew it was going to be hard.

“We feel that this idea makes it more fun for our customers – James makes it like a workshop rather than just coming into a shop. It is a real experience for them. Making everything in front of them, there’s nowhere to hide.

“We have big plans – we want to get big. But we aren’t in a rush, we are focusing on this place right now.

“It really gives all of us a lot of adrenalin. It’s constant.”