NZ Chocolate Awards 2017: Winners announced

In what sounds like one of the best jobs around, judges have sampled and selected 125 chocolates from New Zealand producers to find the best in the country.

In its first year, the New Zealand Chocolate Awards announced the two supreme winners as an Auckland-based husband and wife team and a Wellington woman who balances her fulltime job with her boutique chocolate making.

If you're looking to up the anti on your usual chocolate bar fix, the panel of 17 judges believe nothing beats Honest Chocolat's Salted Caramel and Milk Chocolate Tablet. The creation of Nico Bonnaud, a chocolatier who trained in France, and his wife, Emily, the pair hand craft chocolates in small batches using only natural ingredients.

And the winner of the best filled chocolate on the market is the Chocolate Salted Sesame and Caramel Bonbon by Joanne McAlpine of Jo's Sublime Chocolate. McAlpine is a former chef who took a chocolate tempering course in Wellington before training in Melbourne. Her creations are sold at La Bella Italia restaurant in Petone.

Best in class winners included the best chocolate bark or brittle, which went to She Universe's Sassy Sesame Snap and the best product that uses a premium chocolate brand was deemed Fix & Fogg's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Luke Owen Smith is the award's head judge and owner of The Chocolate Bar in Wellington. He says the Kiwi chocolate industry has seen "rapid development" which he predicts "will go from strength to strength over the next few years."

Among the 125 entries, an encouraging number given the awards are in their first year, seven received Best in Class awards while 22 gold, 28 silver and 19 bronze medals were awarded plus three "Special Awards".

BEST IN CLASS

NZ Life & Leisure Best Bean to Bar - Hogarth Craft Chocolate; Gianduia, Dark Hazelnut
Saint Clair Family Estate Best Chocolate Bar - Honest Chocolat; Salted Caramel & Buckwheat Milk Chocolate Tablet
Fresh.co.nz Best Filled Chocolate or Bonbon - Jo's Sublime Chocolates; Salted Sesame and Caramel Bon Bon
Auckland Barista Academy Best Chocolate Truffle or Ganache - Chocoyo; Garden Mint
FMCG Business Best Bark or Brittle - She Universe; Sassy Sesame Snap
Hospitality Business Best International Chocolate - Ara Chocolat; Tolita 72%
Best NZ Product Made Using a Premium Chocolate Brand - Fix & Fogg; Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

The judging panel at the New Zealand Chocolate Awards. Photo / Supplied

SPECIAL AWARDS

Most Unique Flavour Combination - Swiss Bliss Chocolates; A Taste of Rodney, Hibiscus Flower and Macadamia Nut
Label & Litho Best Packaging - OCHO, Otago Chocolate Company
Children's Favourite - Bohemein Fresh Chocolates; Chocolate Fish

WHERE TO TRY THE WINNING CHOCOLATES

A number of the winning chocolates will be showcased at the Chocolate and Coffee Show on September 23 and 24 at The Cloud in Auckland.

See the full list of winners here.