Gone Chocco

 

Dr Lucy Burns is a blonde combination of Gretel Killeen and Pamela Stephenson and was sporting a black eye when we met,* having truly suffered for her art. And for a good cause…..

As the proud owner of ‘Better than Flowers’-  a business that specialises in creating unique bouquets of edible chocolates cunningly disguised as flowers, Lucy was reaching into the industrial-sized cooler used to store  the chocolates and had the door clunk into her eye.

We met up at the Lindt Cafe on Collins Street to talk about the upcoming FSHD Lindt Chocolate Ball to be held on Friday 6^th August at the Hilton Hotel in East Melbourne.

As we entered, I couldn’t help but notice Lindt’s Macaron tree, surely inspired by Adriano Zumbo’s scary Masterchef challenge?

FSHD isn’t a chemical compound found in chocolate but is a common form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive and irreversible weakness and wasting of muscles in the body.  The not-for-profit FSHD Global Research Foundation is working towards finding a treatment and cure for this debilitating disease, offering hope to thousands of sufferers and their families. In the few short years the foundation has been running, it has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to research projects around the globe.  Lucy also donates all of the profits from Better Than Flowers to FSHD.

Lucy was diagnosed with FSHD (pronounced: Fay-she-oh-skap-you-lo-hum-er-al) in her teens but that didn’t stop her pursuing studies and a career in medicine and raising two daughters with her husband, Ty. Based in the Mornington Peninsula, they are also ‘parents’ to three alpacas, four chickens, two ducks, two Jack Russells, two goats, a couple of rabbits and the unfortunately-named sheep ‘Lamb Chop.’

When not fashioning chocolates into bouquets and organising the Lindt Chocolate ball, Lucy works as a doctor three days a week for the navy. Lucy became disillusioned with the profits-first, 6-minute-medicine style of general practice, which she was unable and unwilling to deliver. Her job at Navy involves looking after hospital patients and allows her to spend more time with them, which is ultimately far more rewarding. “I enjoy my work but have realised that life is about so much more than money – Better Than Flowers gives me a creative outlet and a specific area to direct my energies. Why not combine the challenge of establishing a business with making a difference to FSHD awareness and research?”

I wondered if BTF bouquets would be a hit with blokes who would normally baulk at receiving something living, pretty and covered in petals. “Absolutely,” she nods, “Our footy team-themed chocolate bouquets are very popular.”

Perhaps that’s why Kevin Sheedy, quirky Essendon legend, is a featured guest at the FSHD Lindt Chocolate Ball, along with award-winning chef Luke Mangan and Australian Idol talent Roshani Priddis. “We are bringing together the public’s current fascination with food, Lindt chocolate and celebrity chefs for a great cause and it promises to be the most decadent – and fun – event you’re invited to attend this year,” Lucy says, smiling through her black eye.

Those interested in purchasing tickets – or just making a donation – are encouraged to do so quickly at www.fshdglobal.org.

…..and yes, of course we had hot chocolates at the cafe….. and some desserts ……

…..and yes, I bought some macarons to take home – and share – with Sapphire and Love Chunks – the heavenly salted caramel, the70% chocolate and the rose. All of them were divine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* hence I’m using the photo on her ‘Better Than Flowers’ website rather than the one I took of Lucy yesterday that could be mistakenly used for a WorkSafe or domestic violence campaign!

 

In recent times Cocolo have changed their packaging, going from a mostly black packet to a more refined and inviting white paper wrapping, so I thought it was time to try them again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found these blocks for sale at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in West Melbourne, as a fund-raiser for their amazing work (of which none is funded by government). I’ll admit that because I’ve seen Cocolo in the supermarket and in other shops it didn’t really grab my attention until I read: ‘Discoloured due to heat. Still OK to eat. $2′

So I bought twelve blocks. It’s for a good cause, people!

And it also gives me an opportunity to explain that chocolate that has melted and ‘bloomed’ (ie turned white) and reset again is okay to eat. Actually, I’ll clarify that – it’s okay to eat if it’s within the use-by or ‘best before’ date and shows no signs of damage to the wrapper or packaging. The above blocks, were all fine, but yes, they provided some pretty good photographic examples of blooming:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Stuff Works says there’s two types of bloom that can occur.  Sugar bloom is caused by surface moisture that causes the sugar in the chocolate to dissolve. Once the moisture evaporates, sugar crystals remain on the surface. If this process is repeated, the surface can become sticky and even more discolored. Although sugar bloom is most often the result of overly humid storage, it can happen when the chocolate has been stored at a relatively cool temperature and is then moved too quickly into much warmer surroundings. When this happens, the chocolate sweats, producing surface moisture.

In Cocolo’s case, however, the bloom is more likely caused by fats.  This is very similar to sugar bloom, except that it is the cocoa butter that has separated from the chocolate and deposited itself on the outside fo the block. Due to our unseasonally warm autumn, chocolate that might normally have been OK stored in a warehouse may have melted, causing the dusty appearance.

No matter to me.  Yes, it tastes dustier and sort of powdery/gritty, but if you’re prepared to overlook the appearance it can be eaten and enjoyed as is or melted down (where it resumes its normal dark brown colour) and used in cooking.

The milk chocolate contains 32% cocoa solids (with even the origin included: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador or the Dominican Republic) and all other ingredients are Fair Trade and organic.  It tastes sweet but not ultra-buttery-condensed-milk sweet and is fine enough for me to scoff on my own.  Sometimes you can’t judge a book by its cover….

The 70% has only three ingredients (even Lindt’s 70% has four) – organic and fair trade cocoa mass from Bolivia and Peru, organic and fair trade evaporated cane juice from the Philippines and organic and fair trade cocoa butter from Bolivia and the Dominican republic.

Even in its less-than-pretty state, it was enjoyable.  For a ’serious’ 70%, there was no bitterness that sometimes makes eating a 70% ‘hard work.’  This one instead released a nice earthy and rich cocoa flavour.

Again, I won’t be able to give these to anyone as a gift but for $2, they’re a nice little bonus I can enjoy on my own.

 

My final two Haigh’s blocks are possibly my favourite ones: their plain dark block and their milk orange.

Haigh’s know they’re good, dammit and so they’re not cheap and not available anywhere but in their own shops or via their website. 

These blocks hardly need any adornment because they sell themselves on their reputation and taste and therefore can get away with costing $8 for a mere 100 grams of heaven.

First up is the dark.  Containing 51% cocoa solids and including milk as its last ingredient it shouldn’t scare off anyone who prefers to dwell on the lighter side of the chocolate wheel.

It snaps off cleanly and melts in the mouth as you’d expect from Haigh’s.  It is very sweet with a quite distinct “cocoa powder’ flavour from their secret source of cacao beans that they make into chocolate straight out of the jute sacks they arrive in (and are the only chocolatier in Australia to do so).  The sugar lingers on the palate.  This is a chocolate best eaten with a hot drink to refresh your thirst nearby but easily remains one of the loveliest introductions to the world of dark chocolate.

Unwrapping the milk orange chocolate block means that the inviting aroma of orange wafts up first before tasting which – being an orange and chocolate fan myself – only serves to enhance the experience.

Orange is the first flavour to hit the taste buds too, but this soon gives way to the simply smooth and creamy milk chocolate.  At 32% cocoa solids, the chocolate still has a lot of cocoa flavour on offer which shows why it is the only milk chocolate and orange combination that I like; as I usually adhere to the dark choc/orange spectrum.

Nutrition-wise, these blocks aren’t much different – around 32.3 grams of fat per 100 grams (18.5 grams are saturated) and roughly fifty percent sugar.   Whatever: they’re both divine.

 

Even though I received the official announcement on April Fools’ Day, I’m pretty sure that Cadbury meant it when they assured me that Dairy Milk is now Fairtrade Certified, with their Green & Black’s subsidiary to have all of their blocks follow suit by the end of this year.

Now you regular readers will know that Cadbury often disappoint me (hello, Visitor Centre in Claremont) but, like most of us, I’m not averse to enjoying a few rows of my favourites (currently Creme Brulee or Old Gold for me, Caramello for Love Chunks and Turkish Delight for Sapphire) in front of the telly.  That’s why the new blocks have been photographed on the guide and resting on the remote controls.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new Dairy Milk logo has a Willy Wonka-ish feel about it, but that’s a mere quibble.  I’m more interested – and impressed – by the fact that around 45,000 farmers in Ghana (the main source of Cadbury’s cocoa beans) are going to directly benefit from Cadbury’s Fairtrade certification, which they anticipate will increase up to one million farmers within the next decade as their involvemen increases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, in typical GoneChocco tradition, I tried the darkest of the milk chocolate blocks first, which is Green & Black’s milk containing a minimum of 32% cocoa solids.  It was a very warm night when we tried this, so there was no ‘thock’ when the block was snapped but a soft  ’splurk’ instead.  No matter: when served at not-quite-splodge-point it means that the chocolate will be very flavoursome.

And it was. There’s a slightly gritty cocoa ‘powder’ texture and taste to the bar which is par-for-the-course for milk chocolate above 30% and it’s very sweet (in a good way).  Now I’m not sure if it’s just the Fairtrade good news that lowered my cynicism or the mood I was in that evening, but my notes say, “Haigh’s need to keep an eye on this” because it’s  very reminiscent in taste to Haigh’s milk chocolate block but of course a fair bit cheaper.  I’d love to hear what you guys think.

Second was the Dairy Milk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s now a 200 gram block (down from the original 250 g before last year’s repackaging to 220 grams) but if it’s Fairtrade certified I don’t think anyone will quibble.  After all, recent research showed that 75% of Aussies said they’d buy chocolate that helped provide clean drinking water, schools and help farmers and workers.  When Fairtrade is added to the question, 93% of Aussies said they’d be prepared to pay more to contribute to such benefits.

Back to the Dairy Milk. The squares (I know they’re rectangles but squares are always associated with describing blocks) are flatter which is actually an easier way to eat them than the higher, lego-like squares that used to stay harder for longer and hurt the roof of my mouth.

After eating the 32% Green & Blacks, the Dairy Milk tasted much much creamier and smoother and revealed a heap of caramel and condensed milk flavours.  I couldn’t believe how delicious it was and noticed that it has 26% cocoa solids (when did that happen? I ran to the fridge and read the back of a Turkish Delight bar, which only has 21% cocoa solids).  I then spent the rest of the night happily couch-bound, telly-watching and smiling like a loon eating a couple of squares of G&B followed by a couple of DM; utterly loving the difference and how well they complemented each other. 

Yes, the marriage of Fairtrade and a big Corporation has made the taste experience a much more enjoyable one.  And yes, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.

 

I love this job and I love living in Melbourne.

Yes, I loved living in Adelaide too – it is, after all, the home of Haigh’s – but Melbourne means that I’m technically and geographically closer to a few more chocolate companies and was lucky enough to be invited by Belinda Buckingham, Product Design Co-ordinator of Chocolatier to join her and Director, John Grisold, for a personalised tour.

The three Grisold brothers all had a background in food – David and Mark worked in their father’s business ‘The Baron’s Table’ (chicken) and John ran the fresh produce division in Safeway and by 1985 they were looking for a challenge to start together. Why not chocolate?

Their new business grew from supplying small gourmet shops to the intricately-marbled and famous Easter Eggs we all know today (nearly one million are made every year) and the boxed chocolates we also see in supermarkets.

In 1991, John visited Europe and purchased a Semi-automatic 3-stage molding plant for $120,000. “I lost sleep about it,” he said, shaking his head at the memory. “At that time, I’d spent more than you would on a house and was worried that our staff would think we were trying to cut their jobs.” Put very simply, a 3-stage moulding plant is a more advanced method of making filled chocolates. The base and sides, filling and top layer are done separately to ensure that there is an even coating of chocolate on all sides. “You can tell if it’s just a cheaper, single molded chocolate by the thick base at the bottom,” John said, “and thankfully the staff loved the machine and how much more we could do with it.”

This bad boy (the semi-automatic, not John) was being operated by John’s son Matthew on the day we visited and there are other family members who also work at Chocolatier. “We’ve all put the hard yards into getting in there and making the chocolate and using the machinery,” John said. “It’s vital to work in every aspect of the business before our kids can decide if it’s a career to follow.” 

These days, John is even more enthused about a much bigger, more sophisticated machine that my camera could not do justice to and roughly costs around three or four houses. It has an amazing ability to melt, freeze and fill chocolates in sealed chambers. It was mesmerising to look at; seeing perfectly formed Limon delices being made so gracefully in front of my adoring eyes.

What you might not know is that a lot of the single, freshly-made chocolates sold in many gourmet or specialty chocolate shops are actually Chocolatier products. These hazelnut flower pots are particularly popular; so much so that even my daughter will say, “Oh look, this shop has the Chocolatier flower pots.” It’s therefore not surprising to find that it’s one of their biggest sellers, along with the short black, cappuccino, mud cake and the milk, dark and white caramel-filled chocolate mice. Not to mention their entire truffle range and the pink ribbon boxes.

Visiting the Chocolatier factory just before Easter meant that it was fairly quiet.  Everything was white, pristine and very airy and modern with a warehouse area that IKEA would envy. All of the Easter eggs had been made and shipped out, so the staff were working on white chocolate truffles, milk chocolate Scaredy Cats and the lovely Red Opal with a tingly strawberry crunch centre…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

…. and what I think was a mudcake chocolate that had a finely swirly chocolate coating that would make a rather groovy lace tablecloth that you could eat afterwards instead of shoving into the washing machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the cool steel shelves containing large batches of their individual chocolates (”Here, try this one and this one”, John said pulling out tray after tray of the most beautiful-looking – and tasting – chocolates) were their new trial batches of dark chocolate coated lime jellies.  “Go on, have one,” John urged, his mantra for the morning as I’d already had a white truffle, red opal, short black, butterscotch cup, violet diamond, grand marnier truffle…… 

They were delicious.  Lime – even in a jelly form – has a zingy tang that counteracts the sweet creaminess of chocolate and, as I discovered when helping judge the Australian Chocolate Championships at the Rush festival last year, is ‘the’ funky flavour right now.

“We haven’t released these yet and this is the first time I’ve tried it too,” John said, and was pleased to see from Belinda’s and my reaction that we both think they’d be a winner if the Grisold brothers decide to share them with the rest of us.

David passed by and I asked him what his favourite chocolates were.  “The nut whirl and any or all of the boozy truffles – Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Champagne, Kahlua.”

 

 

John goes through phases. “Macadamia clouds for their quality and simplicity, and nut whirls, truffles and the strawberry delice.”

Belinda was more definite: “Definitely the Red Opal and the Limon.”

I wasn’t sure which were my favourite, but I was very, very interested in their overhead plumbing system and could certainly entertain the idea of installing something similar in my home……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…..especially considering their ‘water’ source:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolatier’s factory shop is on Waterdale Road, Ivanhoe, but they’re recently opened a second shop in Hampton that also specialises in organic and free trade coffee.  Having said that, John observes that their chocolates are just as popular when available at Coles or David Jones, but I’m playing on visiting the shop on another day to take home my own Cocoa the platypus as he’s clearly thriving in the fertile ‘waters’ of Chocolatier!

 

Is it just me being a grumble bum?

Y’see I did quite a few Christmas-oriented chocolate reviews in December and even found myself a few Boxing Day bargains to enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on the 2nd of January, we rocked up to see Hot Cross Buns for sale at Woolworth’s and Easter Eggs available from K-Mart:

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, a week later than the Easter guff (even though it’s in February and a lot closer), we had the inevitable Valentine’s Day stand:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, if it’s alright with you guys, I’m going to ignore Valentine’s Day.  Apart from it being overly-commercialised and forcing people to either spend money on ‘being romantic’ if they’re attached or feel a bit miserable if they’re single and not getting an overpriced delivery of roses and a teddy bear at work, it also interferes with the three months of Easter marketing.

They’re not silly these merchandisers.  They know that greedy fools like me are going to leap at the Cadbury Creme Eggs from the 2nd of January and eat them before the drive home has been completed.  They also know that we’ll buy another packet, and then another one, and another, thus ensuring many sales before the four-day weekend.

With Valentine’s Day, you’re not as likely to buy-and-gobble a gift.  Instead you may still feel obligated to buy, but will feel a fair bit more annoyed about it and will leave it until the very last minute.  That’s why the stuff is only out in January and not – if the chocolate calendar is set for Easter and Christmas dates – from November.

Besides, Valentine’s Day falls on the Chinese New Year – this one being year of the tiger and everyone can join in – partnered or single.

Finally, the reason why I’m not going to do a gooey Valentine’s Day chocolate review is because it is also the day of my darling dog Milly’s birthday.  She’s six – that’s 42 in dog years – and is much more important to celebrate.  Plus, dogs can’t eat chocolate, it’s poisonous!

G’day GoneChocco readers and a very belated Happy 2010 to you all. I’ve been away offline doing the Christmas and new year thing with family and then spent a glorious two weeks in Tasmania; the state of boiling hot coffees, roadkill and fudge (you can read about it here).

However, even the most vague eater of chocolate tends to say, “So isn’t the Cadbury factory down there?” and my wordy indeedy it is. However, I was aware that they’d cancelled their factory tours a couple of years ago (my heartbreak can be witnessed here) but that their on-site shop and displays were worth a visit.

So, when the day arrived, bright and sunny, I was excited.  Yes, it’s just Cadbury and yes, I’m a relatively responsible 41 year old with a child and a mortgage, but I still felt a bit of a thrill walking through what – it must be said – was a rather uninspiring entrance to our largest Chocolate manufacturer.

It cost three of us (Two adults and a child) $17.50 to enter. “But I just want to check out the shop,” I whinged but the uncaring old bag behind the counter pointed to a sign that said even those just wanting to visit the shop were required to pay the entry fee, ‘but we encourage you to visit our informative displays as well.’  I frowned, undecided, until Love Chunks said “Oh come on, we’re here now, let’s go inside.”

We were each handed a 95 gram box of favourites as we walked in, which was rather nice.  The bloke was reaching into this rather large treasure chest and I noted that each box was perilously close to its use by date: not that that’s ever put me off before.

I felt a duty to visit what the brochure describes as ‘a rich diverse chocolate experience, bringing locals and visitors together to enhance the Cadbury brand’ and ventured into the demonstration area.  A nice chap was chatting about the ingredients of Cadbury chocolate, standing behind a counter with clear plastic boxes filled with things like cocoa nibs, sugar and milk powder in them.  If we were patient (and when chocolate’s around, I always am), we got a tiny cup of crumbed chocolate to try and a cup of their ’secret ingredient’ which tasted suspiciously like crumbly brown sugar.

Perhaps the demonstration of chocolate molding would be a tad more, um, interesting.  Alas, no.  What we saw was a woman who was perhaps the Aussie relative of the ‘Computer says no’ lady from Little Britain and Patsy Biscoe’s (ask your mother) sister, clearly bored out of her skull and trying (unsuccessfully) to show us how just exciting it is that Cadbury have made larger sized molds now for their caramello koalas.

Perhaps the shop – with all my pre-heard tales of crazy bargains – would be worth the entry fee….?

Nope.  To be fair, you could buy nearly past their used-by date family blocks (200- 230 grams) for $2.75, but bars were at supermarket prices and the only crazy bargain available during our visit were huge 5 kilogram bags filled only with dodgy versions of the strawberry chocolates found in Cadbury Roses and in a square of the execrable ‘Snack’ block.  No thanks.

I might have been one of the few people to wander out empty-handed and my last resort was their historical display (some lacklustre posters and old easter egg shapes) and souvenirs.

And, after paying $17.50 for frankly a pissweak ‘experience’ that does not ‘enhance the Cadbury brand’ in my or my family’s eyes, I was not then going to pay $60 for a dodgy polar fleece jacket or five bucks for a plastic pen.  Surely if we have to shell out a fee to come in, then the souvenirs could be scaled down to merely ‘expensive’ prices instead of ‘blatantly insulting rip off’ levels?

Later, after chatting about the experience with the owner of a BnB we stayed at, Peter nodded and said, “You’d be better off going to our Chicken Feed shops which are all over Tassie. They always have cheap Cadburys available.”  Plus you don’t have to pay a $17.50 surcharge to get it.

By all means enjoy Cadbury chocolate and your visit to Hobart, but don’t bother with the factory.  It’s a pretty sad day when such a huge corporation offers such a tepid Visitor Centre only designed to suck more money from gullible tourists and whose leaflet can only legitimately shout ‘Ample FREE parking’ as a genuine attraction.  AVOID.

 

Chocolate-eater and regular commenter River is today’s guest reviewer.  She spied these two cheeky blocks at her local Coles and had to try them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMERGENCY CHOCOLATE

For immediate relief of: Chocolate Cravings, Lovesickness, Exam Pressure, Mild Anxiety and Extreme Hunger.

Directions for use: Tear open wrapper, break off desired dosage and consume. Alternatively massage into the affected area. Repeat dosage as required until finished. If symptoms persist consult your local confectioner.

100g Swiss Milk Chocolate 33% cocoa

 

BOCHOX

Confectioner Only Remedy. Keep out of reach of Chocoholics.

Active ingredient cocoa solids-75%

For relief from the symptoms of wrinkles and crow’s feet.

Warning: May cause weight gain if used incorrectly.

Directions: Simply break off the desired dosage and consume. You should quickly be overcome by stress-relieving endorphins and no longer concerned in the slightest about your wrinkles.

IMPORTANT: THIS PACKET IS PROTECTED BY A TAMPER-EVIDENT PAPER WRAP. IF SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN SUSPECT EVERYONE. BOCHOX CAN BE HABIT FORMING.

Not to be taken seriously.

75% cocoa Swiss Dark Chocolate

Both are Swiss made, by Bloomsbury. First the dark; I’m not a fan of dark chocolate, so I don’t like this one.*** Cocoa is 75%; total fats are 46g, the saturated fat content is 28g, sugar is 23g. It’s quite smooth and begins to melt as soon as it’s on your tongue (straight from the fridge), also melts a little on your fingers when snapping off a row. The bitterness is immediately apparent and I’ll probably use the rest of this block in a chocolate pudding or in a hot chocolate where I can add a little sugar. It doesn’t have much gloss, which I don’t really care about anyway, for me it’s all taste.

 Now the milk; I really like this one. Total fats are 36g, the saturated content is 22g, sugar is 51g.  In spite of being so high in sugar this isn’t overly sweet. It’s smooth, but not as creamy as Lindt, and has a nicer, more chocolatey flavour than CadburyDairy milk. It begins to melt as soon as it’s on your tongue, just like the dark one. It made my whole mouth feel happy.

Going by the packaging these are clearly designed for the gift market ($4.99 for each 100 gram block) and I know just who to buy these for….

*** Fair enough, River.  A visit to their website shows that the Emergency Chocolate comes in a milk version at 35% (presumably the same as the Bochox)

Bloomsberry may use Swiss chocolate, but the company is actually based in New Zealand, having been established in 2001 by graphic designer Giles Barker and chef Vanessa Kettelwell.  I remember seeing their amusingly-titled ‘Flat Pack Easter Egg’ block and promptly bought it for Love Chunks as we still had far-too-recent memories of the house move and finding that anything new we’d bought for our house would invariably arrive in…… a flat pack. 

They have a range of Christmas-themed blocks too.  One has a turkey on it and a saying that reads: ‘Stuff the turkey, eat some chocolate’  and another one with ‘Mistletoe Man Magnet’ on it that would be easy slip into your handbag and whip out at the office Christmas party or friend’s NYE shindig.

 

This year Green & Black’s has joined forces with Gorman clothing.  Every customer who makes a purchase at Gorman’s boutiques throughout December will be presented with a bar of Green & Black’s organic chocolate.  Hidden amongst the samples are five lucky  tickets for the chance to win the ultimate wardrobe:  $1500 of Gorman vouchers and a gourmet hamper chocked full of Green & Black’s chocolates.

As part of the collaboration, Gorman’s boutiques across Australia are being decorated with handcrafted ornaments from recycled Green & Black’s wrapping throughout December.  I may not know much about fashion, tending to be the type who is happy enough just to be able to leave the house with clean clothes on, but combining ethically-produced chocolate and shopping sounds just about perfect!  However, if they ever need ‘help’ getting through the chocolate (especially the Maya Gold and magnificent Butterscotch Milk Chocolate), I’ll be right here, waiting….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

….but wait, there’s more – here’s a recipe using Green & Black’s chocolate – Chocolate Brazil Cookies

Ingredients

75g unsalted butter

60g caster sugar

1 large egg, beaten

175g wholemeal self-raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoons milk

75g Green & Black’s 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

75g Green & Black’s milk chocolate roughly chopped

50g brazil nuts, chopped

Pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a baking sheet with melted butter.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg.

Sift the flour once, returning the bran to the sifted flour, then fold it into the mixture. The bran gives a distinctive flavour and texture to the cookies.

Beat well (with a wooden spoon, not an electric beater), adding the vanilla extract and sufficient milk to make a pliable dough.

Add the milk in stages until the dough is fairly soft, but not sticky.

Then add the chopped chocolate, nuts and salt and distribute evenly through the dough.

Roll out on to a lightly floured board to a thickness of about 5mm.

Stamp into rounds and place the cookies, spaced well apart, on the greased baking sheet.

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don’t overcook.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

HINT: All flour should be sifted before you use it. Sifting flour is important, not just to remove any little foreign bodies that may be in the flour, but also to aerate it.

 

After yesterday’s article which included my rant on Ernest Hillier’s packaging and it’s eerie similarity to that of a certain other very large chocolate company and my suggestion that they streamline their design to make it a more recognisable brand, I was contacted by SB, the Brand Manager at Hillier’s.

I’ve met SB before – and had several email and phone chats with him and know him to be a reputable bloke who is committed to his work.  I also hope that GoneChocco will not only provoke debate and opinion but also allow further explanation and other sides of the story to be heard.   This is what he said:

“I can give some excellent insight into this, as prior to Hilliers, I worked for ____ from 2005-2008.

Packaging (borrowing of concepts) – this happens a lot in confectioinery, and depending on your point of view, it’s the case of chicken and the egg, confec borrows a lot from other categories like fashion and cosmetics, and time to time, one chocolate manufacturer will copy another e.g. the most spectacular flop of which was Cadbury’s failed Eden Gift Box’s (circa 2006), which was abysmal in trying to emulate the Lindt Lindor Gift Boxes. You might ask Cadbury Eden what? My point exactly.

Hillier’s Cocoa Dusted Flower Boxes have been available since 2007 and have been sold exclusively to David Jones in 2008.   Lindt Lindor Cube (similar flower pattern) developed roughly the same time, this same flower pattern is now used by Cadbury Roses sold in Big W 2009 (see below).

 

                                 

 

 

 

Hillier’s Assorted Bon Bons have been available since 2002, with Lindt Bon Bons available since 2008/9.

Hillier’s Highly Awarded Packaging Innovators – as a small family owned business we thrive as a company, partly because the buyers of the larger national retailers rely on Hillier’s to innovate in packaging design. This is something we are re-known for in the industry. See some of our achievements.

• Gold ‘Beauty through Design’ in the Australasian Packaging Awards 2007 (Packaging Council of Australia)
• Gold in Wadepack Premium Folding carton awards 2004 (Packaging Council of Australia)
• Bronze Medal in the Australian National Print Awards 1999

Who’s borrowing from who?  Depends who you are asking. For reasons, including not being widely available to the public nationally through major retailers like Coles, Woolworths, and DJs Myer, has affected our brand recognition or recall with consumers. So when it appears that Hillier’s have copied Lindt, is actually quite false. It may appear that way, since everyone recognises Lindt or the others in the big 4 (Cads, Ferrero, Guylian), simply because they are widely available – however  being first to market, unfortunately means being borrowed from sometimes – and flattery, and being mentioned in the same sentence is…

We are soon to launch our revamped Website and have plans in offering an Online Shop, which should make our portfolio of chocolates products more accessible and recognisable to the public.

If only consumers really knew.”

Well SB, you can rest assured that the highly-read, intelligent, discerning, gorgeous, joys-to-be-with and incredibly talented readers of GoneChocco now do!