Foundry Chocolate

David Herrick traces his chocolate-making journey to the day he read a small magazine article a decade ago about someone making chocolate on a microscale in London. It was a novel concept to him, but after trying some craft chocolate and finding it “pretty neat”, he started dabbling as a hobby, building machinery and making test batches.

“Feedback from friends was good, and I thought, well, this could be a business.”

And so, in 2018, David and his wife, Janelle, founded Foundry Chocolate in Mahurangi West.

Fast forward a few years, and a growing collection of NZ and international awards shows what an inspired decision that was.

After Foundry won the Supreme Award in the 2020 NZ Chocolate Awards, David appeared on national television – remotely, because the first pandemic lockdown had begun days earlier – sparking a big boost in retailer interest. Increased demand saw Foundry move from Mahurangi to a new base in Silverdale late last year.

Unlike the vast majority of chocolate sold in stores, Foundry’s ‘bean-to-bar’ delicacies comprise just two ingredients – a range of carefully-selected, ethically-sourced cacao beans and organic sugar.

Last month, Foundry won four gold medals, two silvers and a bronze in the Chocolate category at the 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards.

The Golds were awarded to bars featuring cacao from Tanzania, Vanuatu, Mexico and Vietnam. The latter, which is also Foundry’s most-recent offering, has been particularly well received, David says.

The tasting notes he gets from it are crème brulée, toffee and woody spices. But, he adds, “you don’t have to have a wine taster’s palate to enjoy good chocolate”.

Business directory: Foundry Chocolate