Chocolate Moments

Myer Centre - Shop 46, Level E, 91 Queen Street Brisbane

Albert St – 117 Albert St, Brisbane

 While everyone knows Belgium is famous for Belgian chocolate and Agatha Christie’s exercise phobic detective, it’s nice to know you don’t have to go to Belgium to enjoy the former. Think delectable truffles, chocolate liqueurs and dreamy fudge. All are handmade locally by Gerrard Gosens whose CV includes being a blind three times Paralympian, climbing Everest, making the finals of “Dancing with the stars” as well as the “official blind taste tester” for Chocolate Moments. 

Tasmania

Coal River Farm

634 Richmond Road, Cambridge

Why confine yourself to amazing chocolate when you can also sample amazing cheeses and jams?  Why indeed? At Coal River Farm you can lose yourself in the salt & creamy contrast of a vine ashed log cheese, the depth their strawberry jam or discover that a small box of handmade chocolates is an awful lot of love for the money. Balance mandatory overconsumption with a bit of berry picking and you are there for the perfectly rounded Easter treat.

Victoria

Yarra Valley Choclaterie and Ice Cream Factory

33 Old Healesville Rd, Yarra Glen

If having chocolate and ice cream (surely two of the masterworks of civilization) doesn’t float your boat for Easter there isn’t much that will. Set in the unparalleled scenery and gourmet food bowl of the Yarra Valley this place features every version of chocolate you could imagine crafted to boutique quality by Belgian and French chocolatiers. Let’s not mention incredible icecream made from local cream. If you have the family, you can let the kids go wild on the Easter Hunt while you enjoy some quiet quality time with chocolate & ice cream.

Renaissance Chocolates

507 Boorhaman East Road, Rutherglen

With the delicious cool of Autumn now kicking in there’s no better time than Easter to cruise up to this beautiful town. As if you needed another reason there is also Renaissance Chocolates where the finest Belgian couverture is made from rich local milk for your Easter pleasure. While you are there we recommend you don’t remain a stranger to their sensational hot chocolate a chocolate brownie or a white chocolate scone. Or all three. Can’t believe we just said that!

Bright Chocolates

8/3 Riverside Avenue, Bright

Even in the world of chocoholic obsessives, Bright Chocolates are serious about their ingredients and their ethics. Multiple award winners they make their single origin bars from cacao beans from Madagascar, Ecuador. Trinidad and the Dominican Republic. Set in stylishly restored stables right beside the Ovens River you can also be part of a daily behind the scenes tour at 2 pm.

New South Wales

Michelle Morgan

Emu Heights, NSW 

If you headed out for Easter in a vaguely westerly direction a trip to Michelle Morgan’s Choclaterie could well change your chocolaty world - forever. Named more than once as the best chocolate in Australia the shop sits out at the foot of the Blue Mountains and has won a raft of Australian and international awards. If you can think of Easter as less egg and more chocolate we recommend the Tranquilidad. This 72% Bolivian cacao dream weaver that won best dark chocolate at the International Chocolate Salon in 2014, and who can argue with that!

The Treat Factory

6 Old Creamery Lane, Berry

If you love Chocolate and your Easter plans take you down the South Coast the Treat Factory is an important point of reference. Within the historic Creamery, you will find hundreds of chocolate products and condiments as well as the Dairy Bay Café, which sells old-style milkshakes and scrumptious food. Check out the production run or treat yourself to a hands-on chocolate making class. 

Western Australia

Bahen & Co

Margaret River, Western Australia

If you love making wine it's not so big a jump to chocolate. At least that’s the way Josh Bahen thought and so far you’d have to say it’s working out more than well.

Bahen’s chocolate making philosophy is old school and slow from cacao to the finished product and their machinery includes a 1930 roaster and 1910 chocolate machine. Beans come from Madagascar, PNG, Brazil, and more recently with farmers from Vanuatu.

The result is sumptuous 70% dark chocolate, with beautiful packaging that hints at the quality within. Our recommendation is the $50 mixed bundle which is a lot of Easter for your money.

Margaret River Chocolate Company

5123 Swan Valley Road, Swan Valley

Even though the main outlet is in the Swan Valley and only 20 minutes from Perth don’t let the name confuse you. What you need to know is that the product is wonderful and there are free tastings. As if you needed more bona fides, you can take yourself to a parallel chocolate universe with more than 30 styles of truffle and single origin chocolates from Ghana, Tanzania, Java, Uganda and Venezuela. Told you, you’d like it!

South Australia

Haigh’s

Parkside, South Australia

Okay we know it’s in town, not in the bush, but there’s no nicer part of Australian to cruise around at Easter or nearly any other time. Enjoy the wide streets, minimal traffic and the lure of the simply excellent native-born chocolate, what’s not to like? Haigh’s make their chocolate all the way from cocoa to wrapper and source ethically and sustainably grown beans and we love their Aussie twist on Easter with their iconic chocolate Bilby.

Minlaton Chocolaterie

41 Main St, Minlaton

Boyhood memories of living next door to a chocolaterie and seeing the movie Chocolat fired up Belgian-trained chocolatier Jose Milhano, to start his own business on the Yorke Peninsula. The fact that the couple still uses fruit from their own farm to make many of the soft centres is an example of their devotion to their craft. If you want something exceptional for Easter- try one of their handmade jewel-encrusted Faberge style eggs, delightful.