Lewis Road and Whittaker's whip up chocolate butter

In their first collaboration since their frenzy-inducing chocolate milk, Lewis Road Creamery and Whittaker's have joined forces again to launch a new culinary innovation: chocolate butter.

According to the team at Lewis Road Creamery, the decadent chocolate spread is the first of its kind to hit supermarket shelves.

Made from Lewis Road butter and Whittaker's 72 per cent dark ghana chocolate, Lewis Road founder Peter Cullinane says the idea for a chocolate butter emerged over an afternoon tea of French pastries at the Lewis Road kitchen table.

"The French, who know a thing or two about butter, chocolate and pastries, have always had a soft spot for pain au chocolat and it got us thinking: 'What if we combined the world's best butter and best chocolate in an easy-to-spread blend that would be good with almost anything?'

"Right away we were off to the patisserie for more croissants and it was out with the blender to mix up the very first batch of chocolate and butter. As soon as we tasted it we knew we were onto something special."

NZH Focus's Laura McGoldrick sampled the new creation with restaurateur Michael Dearth, who played a part in the early stages of fine tuning the spread.

The idea for a chocolate butter emerged over a charming afternoon tea of French pastries at the Lewis Road kitchen table. Photo / Bailee Wilson-Yates

"Early on they approached us, before the world knew about the butter. Chefs were using it in their cooking and they gave feedback on what they liked, or what they disliked. So we were part of that early journey."

Just in time for Labour Weekend brunches, the butter is recommended for spreading on toast, croissants, pancakes, waffles and crumpets.

But beyond slathering it on your pastries, Dearth has some more adventurous suggestions:

"Chocolate really lends itself to savoury pairings," he says.

"You could use it with duck, or maybe some sticky ribs, for example... don't be afraid."

For those who like to add honey to their cooking, Dearth reckons chocolate butter could be a fun alternative.

Sampling the spread on croissants, McGoldrick and Dearth describe it as "naughty."

Whittaker's Holly Whittaker says the teams behind the creation are keen to find out what Kiwis think.

"Our customers love it when they see their favourite chocolate used in new ways - and this one definitely won't disappoint. We are excited to be collaborating with Lewis Road again on another innovative and exciting product and can't wait to hear what New Zealanders think."

At $8.99 for a 200g gold pottle #ChocolateButter is available nationwide from today, in specialty food stores and most major supermarkets.