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Beans from Vanuatu and Tanzania feature in Foundry’s solid miniature Easter eggs.
Silverdale chocolatier Foundry Chocolate has walked away with a trove of honours in the premium bean-to-bar category at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, announced on March 19, taking four gold medals, two silvers and a bronze.
Co-founder David Herrick says to have the company’s craft chocolate win such prestigious NZ awards, and to be recognised among so many other skilled food producers, is very special.
“This is recognition of the continual work we are doing to improve our chocolate-making craft, our investment in equipment and the time spent learning, testing and improving.”
It’s not the first time Foundry Chocolate has swept top awards for its delicacies, which are made using just two ingredients – beans from a range of cacao-growing regions, and organic sugar.
Three of this year’s four gold medal winners – featuring beans from Tanzania, Vanuatu and Mexico – have previously won golds, including in past NZ Chocolate Awards (which this year have been rolled into the Outstanding Food Producer Awards). The fourth, made from beans from the Ea Kar farming collective in Dak Lak province, Vietnam, is the company’s newest product, which David says has been enthusiastically received.
Late last year, Foundry won three gold medals and nine at the Global Academy of Chocolate Awards in London.
David and his wife, Janelle, founded the company in Mahurangi West in 2018 and moved to Silverdale towards the end of last year.
Foundry Chocolate winners in the Outstanding Food Producer Awards:
GOLD: Ea Kar, Dak Lak, Vietnam 70%; Kilombero Valley, Tanzania 70%; Pinalum, Malekula Island, Vanuatu 70%; Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico 70%.
SILVER: Anamalai Estate, India 70%; Semuliki Forest, Uganda 70%.
BRONZE: Ucayali River, Peru 70%
