How did you get into the chocolate business?
I was made redundant at the end of 2008. It amazed me how quickly doors closed and phone calls went unreturned from people I had previously wined and dined in my national sales manager role. After much reflection and healing, I decided I would launch my own business. Chocolate was a product I loved, and I started looking at ways to make a business out of something I could be truly passionate about.
We started with a single retail store - The Sweetest Little Chocolate Shop - selling various New Zealand-made brands of chocolate. It soon became apparent to me that there was a major niche in the fine chocolate industry, as I believed many of the products we were selling were well behind international trends. The decision was made to launch our own manufacturing brand, Kako Chocolate, and we built a commercial kitchen, fully customised toward chocolate production. I also went overseas for training with master chocolatiers.
The school is about sharing my passion, and helping train the next generation of chocolatiers. It is also about educating the market, so we can wean people away from the sickly sweet 'confectionery' chocolate they grew up with. It is all about eating a better quality chocolate - eat better, eat less.