Greytown artisan chocolate studio Schoc Chocolates won five awards at the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards last week.
Schoc business owner and chocolatier Murray Langham said he was delighted to win a gold award for his lavender, salted caramel; two silvers for his lemon white tablet and orange and geranium stirrer, and two bronze awards for his peanut bar and Wellington tablet.
He said the awards reflected his commitment to producing premium products made from premium ingredients and having the ability to think outside the square when it comes to flavour combinations.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on offering unusual flavour combinations such as our original chilli and lime, the more exotic curry and poppadum and now our gold winning Lavender salted caramel,” he said.
“I’m really thrilled and want to thank my team for their hard work over the years.”
Mr Langham was one of 36 producers who entered the inaugural awards that saw more than 125 entries.
He said in addition to the gold award, he was chuffed to take bronze with his Wellington tablet which was created by mixing Schoc milk chocolate with salt and ground Supreme coffee beans to get a beautiful three-layer flavour that includes caramel.
“A few years back I was asked what Wellington would taste like in chocolate and I immediately thought of salt,” Mr Langham said.
“Those salt-laden windy days are part and parcel of the city and combined with the incredible coffee I decided to combine those two flavours together with milk chocolate.”
