Coromandel Chocolate founder Thomas Capdevielle. Photo / Jim Birchall
Those with a sweet tooth living in and visiting Whangamatā will soon be able to satisfy their cravings at a small-scale artisan chocolate factory and shop that is the brainchild of a Frenchman who has made the resort town his home.
Thomas Capdevielle, the son of a wine taster, was born in Bordeaux and studied law in Bayonne, a Basque port town near Spain known as the capital of French chocolate. He has been a chocolate maker for over a decade after learning his metier at a well-known factory in Bayonne producing chocolate since 1836.
After gaining his degree, he travelled to New Zealand and landed in Whangamatā for two years, and also met his wife.
He then worked for several years at a Matakana-based chocolatier, before shifting with his young family to Whangamatā, where he set about creating his own brand Coromandel Chocolate.
Capdevielle has created an interactive experience from a garage space converted from a hairdressing salon. The goals of the venture are not entirely commercial: according to Capdevielle. He is hoping to build an educative business around chocolate where people can come and learn as well as buy.
Customers lining up for the sweet delights of the display cabinet or a cold glass of drinking chocolate on a summer’s day, can gaze behind the scenes and learn first-hand about what goes into the various layers of chocolate production.
“We are, what we call in the industry, a bean-to-bar chocolate maker,” said Capdevielle, who thinks it is important to provide full transparency to the public concerning what is being put into the chocolate they buy from him and satisfy any ethical concerns.
Chocolate is made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels, and Capdevielle said he is “super passionate about the botanical aspect” of the bean that was once “treated like gold by the Aztecs” before becoming a commodity with the advent of mass-scale production and the addition of palm oil.
“I take full control of the whole process, I source my cacao bean strictly,” said Capdevielle, adding that “one of my best mates owns a plantation in Vanuatu and he is supporting a small family growing beautiful beans.”
“Our single-origin cacao is from a small village called Pinalum in Malekula Island. Supporting small farmers is a priority for us and it’s our business vision to ‘make chocolate from the Pacific, for the Pacific.’ "
The beans arrive in New Zealand in 70kg bags and are roasted in a vintage machine that Capdevielle sourced from a coffee roaster in Kerikeri after “looking for one for seven years”.
After spending four months restoring the roaster, commercial chocolate production is now under way and Capdevielle is busy trialling new flavours and combinations and tinkering with recipes.
“We want to be known as ‘Coromandel Chocolate the traditional French chocolate maker’, and we want to be representing both countries well,” he said.
His ingredients include locally sourced milk and contemporary favourites like mānuka honey. The brand has teamed up with Whangamatā beer maker Salt District Brewing to make a stout and has also created its own cognac-infused delicacies.
“We are starting with bars in six flavours”, said Capdevielle. Future offerings will include salted caramel and macadamia bars, and he is working on a hazelnut-chocolate spread.
Coromandel Chocolate currently sells at the popular weekend markets held at Williamson Park in Whangamatā. Capdevielle is there on Sundays peddling his creations that include hot chocolate (also offered as vegan and dairy-free) via a distinctive branded icecream-style bike.
The shop and factory should be open to the public by August, but Capdevielle said he is keen to court local interest before that date - possibly via soft product launches.
He is looking to introduce wine tasting and chocolate pairing, and he reliably informed HC Post that “Dark chocolate goes well with some red wine and milk chocolate can be paired with some white and sweet wine and white chocolate goes with champagne.”
“In the future, we will love to be the stop in the Coromandel that people can trust as a really good quality chocolate shop. Chocolate offer endless opportunities for us to please our customers and we really want to keep digging for them.”
“Bring your kids in and have a look, ask questions about it, share knowledge. I just want a place where you can sit and drink chocolate, open from early in the morning to late at night - the possibilities are endless.”