Choc Treatment

The sweet taste of success is fresh on the lips of two Southland chocolatiers.

In an inspiring story of sheer determination in very trying financial times, Steve and Donna McClean have followed their dream to create a new culinary destination in Warkworth, and have triumphed in a most divine way. Travelling full circle, they have found their way back to their hometown of Warkworth after an adventure in the Deep South, bringing the ‘Chocolate Brown’ brand, their café and chocolaterie tucked under their arm.

In 2004, the McClean family made a lifestyle decision, leaving Warkworth with their two daughters and their established bakery and cafe, and heading for Queenstown, where they ran their own café ‘Coco’ for three years. Both cafés sold beautiful chocolates that were made in Geraldine, South Canterbury, by a Swiss family who used traditional European techniques to create their exquisite handmade chocolates.

With ‘Coco’ ticking along, the McCleans considered their future and decided to expand on their existing culinary skills. They could see great potential in the chocolate making line, so they decided to approach the Geraldine-based company and explore that option. They ended up purchasing the small cottage business, and Chocolate Brown was born in 2007.
“I hadn’t worked with chocolate before but realised that it was an amazing product to have fun with,” Steve admits. “It also quite happily extended the field of experience I had been working in and, I might add, chocolate making has far more desirable hours to start work!”
Steve’s 15 years experience as a pastry chef gave him the technical skill to throw himself into the chocolate-making craft with great gusto. He and Donna were soon creating new products to add to the range, introducing such delectable treats as their rose and pistachio wafers and raspberry creams. Soon, more classical flavours using traditional ingredients were added, due to their ongoing popularity with customers.

Chocolate Brown were now suppling their high-quality products to chocolate shops, gift stores, gourmet food stores, as well as cafes, delis and restaurants throughout New Zealand. Over the next two years, Steve and Donna maintained their strong focus on consistency, high quality and integrity, and their vibrant little business continued to thrive and grow along with its already strong reputation.
After six years in Queenstown, the McCleans once again assessed their future and what lay ahead for their family as well as for their business. They took a leap of faith and, in 2009, relocated to Warkworth with the joint aim of expanding their small chocolate-making business, and being closer to their tight-knit family group.
With the decision made and the odds, not to mention the bank’s advice, stacked against them, Steve and Donna went in search of a new home for Chocolate Brown. Their dream had always been to have a boutique chocolate factory and café, so they were not about to settle for conventional premises. As chance would have it, the ‘worst-space best-street’ scenario presented itself, in the form of an abandoned old local building. Donna saw the potential immediately and the details of the lease were arranged over the internet and via the phone, with only one visit to check things out before the family moved to Warkworth in December 2009.

Donna was excited by the opportunity to exercise her creative flair. “Vision is totally important to me, and inspiration comes from seeing something no one else sees as useful anymore. I get great satisfaction from seeing the potential and driving to see that potential realised.”
Converting an unused panelbeater’s yard in Warkworth’s historic Mill Lane in to their stylish new premises has been a labour of love with truly unforgettable results. Steve’s father and brother-in-law managed the extensive renovations, while Steve and Donna continued to run their Queenstown factory, continuing to supply their retailers nationally.

When the banks refused to finance the renovations and expansion of the small business, family stepped forward again, providing the backing so they could complete the project.
Steve is incredibly grateful that the banks’ decision did not kill their dream.
“Wow, sometimes you love them and sometimes you don’t. We have found that banks need motivated entrepreneurs to make things happen, to keep things going but don’t necessarily have the capacity to help you when you need it. So family who believed in us really came through and consequently that keeps us even more focused as we have a lot riding on the success of our business.

The factory re-opened in Warkworth in January 2010 to keep up with their wholesale orders, and the Chocolate Brown Café opened in March to fabulous reviews and much popularity with the locals. Not to be left behind, the staff from the Queenstown factory also relocated to Warkworth, and Donna’s mother moved from Geraldine to work with them in the chocolaterie.
But they didn’t stop there. To complete the dream, Steve and Donna wanted to offer Warkworth a culinary experience in the evening as well. Enter another family member! Experienced chef Phillip McClean, Steve’s brother, is now the head chef and he has created a divine evening menu for the licensed restaurant that is now open three nights a week, as well as for the café, which is open seven days.

Steve and Donna agree that they could not have achieved what they have without a sturdy measure of faith and determination. “Head and heart can get confused if you don’t separate the small stuff from what’s realistic during times of change. You can lose perspective of what is really achievable.
‘‘We love excellence in all that we do and we can see that we have now achieved it at our place with our food, product, people and service,” Steve says. “There is an epidemic of really average attitude towards business, food and service out there. We need to endeavour to stand out from the crowd. A little bit of passion about what you do makes a huge difference. We feel a great sense of satisfaction from seeing our customers turn into regulars, who love what we do, also how our team has grown personally and professionally, and that we have been a part of that.”

Sharon Adamson
www.chocolatebrown.co.nz

Taking the wrapper off the chocolate trade

Donna and Steve’s chocolate drops of wisdom for those planning to expand or change their business in financially difficult times:
• Be sure of your market, have faith in your product and in your own abilities to steer the ship through murky waters.
• Hold your values and vision up as a reference point, refer back to these often to give you reassurance that you are working to a plan.
• Surround yourself with trusted peers who you will give you all important perspective and honesty in times of stress.
• Opportunities appear at the most incongruous time. Huge decisions often have to be made when it’s most inconvenient, but sometimes opportunity is hanging back in the wings just waiting to be seen.
• Dream a little. Too many of us live with a lid on our lives, either placed there by others but mostly by ourselves. At the end of the day, you only live once, for a very short time and things don’t get achieved just by accident. Dreaming, especially the constructive kind will keep the lid off your life and sometimes, just sometimes you get to see your dreams come to fruition.




Chocolate Mousse
Makes 8 wine glass servings
150g Belgiun dark chocolate Callets
4 eggs, separated
200ml cream
2 Tbsp sugar
Gently melt the chocolate, stir in egg yolks and mix well. Beat the cream until thick.
Fold chocolate into cream. Beat whites until stiff but not dry, gradually adding the sugar and mix until glossy. Fold half egg white mix into the chocolate, mix well, then add remaining whites. Spoon into dishes and chill until serving. Serve with black cherries, whipped cream and grated chocolate for decoration.



Chocolate Pots
Makes 6 small pots
285ml cream
200g dark chocolate, broken
2 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp brandy (optional)
20g butter
Heat the cream to a boil. Remove for one min, add chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth, then beat in yolks and brandy and stir until smooth.
Add the butter when the mixture has cooled and stir until smooth. (Adding the butter while the mixture is warm makes it separate. To rectify this, let the mixture cool add a little cold milk and mix again)
Pour into individual dishes and chill. Serve with little cookies or thin sliced biscotti.


Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Makes approx 24 macaroons
125g Belgiun dark chocolate Callets
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
100g sugar
180g coconut (threaded & desiccated)
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat the oven to 150c
Gently melt the chocolate and allow to cool.
Whisk egg whites with salt until soft peaks form.
Add 3-4 Tbsp of sugar and whisk until glossy and firm.
Fold in remaining sugar then the cooled chocolate followed by coconut and vanilla. Place spoonfuls 2.5cm apart on lined trays.
Line baking tray and bake 15 -18 mins until dry on outside soft and fudgy in middle.