XOKO is the dream and concept of Fernando Basaldua Bazaldua and Tristan Aitchison. Fernando, who is from Mexico, has a passion for baking and pastry. He has worked across Latin America and Spain. Fernando was head baker for renowned Spanish pastry chef Oriol Balageur in Barcelona, and in 2017 was part of the team that won best Panettone in Spain. Tristan is a documentary filmmaker from the Black Isle. His multi award-winning feature film ‘Sidney & Friends’ screened in over 30 countries, winning Best Documentary at Newfest: New York’s LGBTQ International Film Festival.

The name XOKO, pronounced shaw-ko, comes from the ancient Nahuatl language in Mexico and means “The village where the bitter fruit grows”. It is thought this is the origin of the word chocolate.

XOKO is all about chocolate. The finest divine Belgium chocolate is used in all our products including our peanut and caramel bar, or “Sneckers” as we like to call it - rich chocolate cake layered with caramel and peanuts encased in dark chocolate.

Our Carajillo Fudge Cake, based on the Spanish boozy coffee, we think will get you all nostalgic of past Mediterranean holidays. Our croissants and pastries are made with Appellation d'Origine Protégée French butter...bringing a little bit of Paris to Inverness.

The bakehouse is open-plan. It’s important to us that you can see the ingredients, love, and passion that go into our products...so take a seat at the Espresso Bar and wait in anticipation for those cinnamon rolls come out of the oven.

Oh...Fernando says they have to cool first!

We can’t wait to welcome you to XOKO.

Fernando & Tristan