Nestled in the heart of Silverdale, Foundry Chocolate stands as a testament to passion, craftsmanship, and the pursuit of flavor excellence. Founded by David Herrick and his wife Janelle, this boutique chocolate company has carved out a unique niche in the world of bean-to-bar chocolate making. I had the honor of interviewing David and touring their remarkable factory. It was an inspiring experience to witness firsthand the dedication and meticulous process that goes into creating their exquisite chocolate bars.
At Silverdale Business, we are dedicated to promoting our members in the Silverdale Business Park (Industrial Precinct) and sharing their successful journeys to inspire other business owners in our community. Join us as we delve into the journey of Foundry Chocolate, exploring the heart and soul of their craft, and discover what makes their creations truly exceptional.
Journey to Chocolate Making
S: What inspired you and your wife Janelle to start Foundry Chocolate, and how did you get into the world of chocolate making?
D: It started about 10 years ago when I read an article about someone in the UK making chocolate on a micro scale. I had no idea you could make chocolate without a huge factory. This was my first insight into bean-to-bar craft chocolate. I taught myself all that I know, with a lot of research, making many mistakes, and gradually getting better and better. Once we were happy with what we were doing we launched Foundry Chocolate in 2018.
Bean-to-Bar Process
S: Can you walk us through your meticulous bean-to-bar process and explain what sets it apart from other chocolate makers?
D: We start with unroasted cacao beans from different single origins around the world. They get:
- Hand sorted,
- Roasted our amazing gas roaster with careful attention to temperature, time and rates of temperature change.
- Cracked and winnowed to remove the husk and leave the cacao nibs
- Stone ground into chocolate in Melangeurs for over 72 hours
- Poured into large blocks of chocolate to mature for weeks or months depending on the single origin.
- Melted down again, tempered and moulded into chocolate bars, then wrapped.
What sets us apart is the exquisite single origins we use, and then our roasting approach and technique, we profile each single origin and each is roasted differently to bring through the flavour notes we want.
Flavor Development
S: With only two ingredients, cacao beans and organic sugar, how do you achieve such a wide range of flavor notes in your chocolate?
D: We like to say chocolate isn’t a flavour, chocolate instead has flavour. Think of it like good wine or whisky. When you’re working with the best cacao beans in the world there are flavour notes there for the tasting, you can taste stone fruit, cherries, caramel, citrus, malts, the list just goes on, all depending on the single origin and how we’ve made it into chocolate.
Sourcing Cacao Beans
S: How do you select the cacao beans from different regions, and what do you look for in terms of quality and flavor potential?
D: To start we make sure the single origin stacks up ethically, then we get a sample of the cacao beans in, make them into a tiny test batch of chocolate, and eat it. We’ll be looking for new and exciting flavour notes, from a part of the world we don’t presently source cacao from, and for something that will add to the Foundry family of single origins.
Terroir and Provenance
S: Like fine wines and single malt whiskies, your chocolate emphasizes terroir and provenance. How do these elements influence the final product?
D: These elements influence the packaging that Janelle designs. The colours on the packaging are bespoke for each single origin, and the illustration style and imagery also links back to origin. For example a big bright tasting bar like Kilombero Valley, Tanzania has colours that represent this, and in contrast a deep mysterious bar like Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico has a completely different colour palette and illustration style.
Packaging and Presentation
S: Janelle’s art-direction and design work make the packaging an event in itself. How important is packaging to the overall experience of Foundry Chocolate?
D: Very important, as the opening experience of the chocolate needs to be just as memorable and special as the chocolate itself, it is designed to be a little like opening a present.
Challenges and Triumphs
S: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in creating and growing Foundry Chocolate, and how have you overcome them?
D: The biggest challenge we face is people not expecting unflavoured chocolate to have flavour, when their whole lives they’ve only eaten industrial chocolate with added flavour. We love sampling chocolate at events and at our Cellar Door and amazing people with how much flavour there is in craft chocolate.
Customer Experience:
S: What do you hope customers take away from their experience with Foundry Chocolate, both in terms of flavor and overall enjoyment?
D: Just an overall experience where they get to eat amazing chocolate and be aware of exactly where the cacao their chocolate is made from comes from.
Future Plans
S: What are your future plans for Foundry Chocolate? Are there any new products or projects on the horizon?
D: We’ve always got new things in the works, we’ve a new single origin arriving in the coming weeks, and as for future plans, we don’t want to get massive, we just want to grow carefully and sustainably and do what we do really well.
Visit Foundry Chocolate and experience their delicious creations for yourself—you won’t be disappointed! Let’s show our support for local businesses and help them flourish.
