Robyn’s guide to local chocolate

For details of our local chocolate makers, see the relevant part of the Local Food Directory.

We are lucky that we have many local chocolate makers. The table below lists some of them, including where you can buy their chocolate.

Name	Base	Where do they sell?				Fair Trade?	Certified organic?
		Own shop?	Other shops?	Online?	Markets?
Chocolatier Australia	Ivanhoe	yes	yes	yes	.	some	.
Cocoa Rhapsody	Coburg	.	yes	.	yes	.	yes
Girl Made Chocolate	Northcote	.	yes	.	yes	.	ingredients
Manuko	Thornbury	.	yes	yes	.	.	ingredients
Organic Times	Bayswater	.	yes	yes	.	yes	yes
Ratio Cocoa Roasters	Brunswick	yes	yes	yes	.	.	yes
Really Good Chocolate	Coburg	.	.	yes	yes	.	ingredients
Van Nunen Chocolates	Eltham	.	yes	.	.	.	.
Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery	Yarra Glen	yes	.	yes	.	.	.

 

The four most notable local chocolate makers are:

• Chocolatier Australia: affordable premium luxury chocolate, loose, seasonal and boxed. Includes some Fair Trade offerings. Available from their own shop (244 Waterdale Road, North Ivanhoe, 3079), online or from many local shops.
• Organic Times: quality, Fair Trade chocolate products that not only taste delicious but are made from Certified Organic ingredients. Available online or from many local shops.
• Ratio Cocoa Roasters: chocolate made from single origin cacao beans. Available from their own shop (186 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 3056) or online.They also do public tours of their factory on most Fridays and Sundays; $10; book on EventBrite.
• Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery: over 250 different chocolate and related products. Mainly sold at their own chocolaterie (35 Old Healesville Road, Yarra Glen, 3775), which is set on 16 hectares and is an experience the whole family can enjoy. Also available online.

There are also some smaller, local makers of handmade chocolate who sell at farmers’ markets, including:

• Cocoa Rhapsody.
• Really Good Chocolate.

Also, here are three other, interesting Australian chocolate makers:

• Chocolab: you design your own chocolate bar with as many ‘toppings’ as you want.
• Haigh chocolate, who are recommended by Shop Ethical because they use ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients and support a rabbit-free Australia.
• Loving Earth, a company in Campbellfield who make and sell a variety of healthy and nutritional chocolate products, sourcing ingredients from indigenous communities who follow sustainable practices in relation to the workers and the environment.

Finally, if you would like to make your own chocolate, you can try Lisa Walton’s recipe or, alternatively, here is a recipe for carob ‘chocolate’:

Ingredients
1 cup carob powder
2 cups caster sugar
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method
Mix sugar and carob in a saucepan with a little of the milk until smooth.

Add the rest of the milk then the butter. Heat slowly, stirring all the time, till it’s thick enough to coat the spoon, then a bit more.

Take off the heat, add vanilla, beat for about five minutes (you need to do this for a smooth texture). Pour onto a greased oven dish or into patty cases or drip drops for ‘buttons’ onto a greased tray etc. Cut if needed when cold.