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Chocolate in the Straw: By Catherine Tinsley |
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“What?” I ask with a look of disbelief. “No, really, they do. It’s called the ultimate hot chocolate, but the cup they serve it in looks like a toilet bowl.” She says with a wink. My family of four is visiting her family of four in Victoria, Australia, and her husband has just taken us to Mt. Franklin, Victoria, just outside the local holiday destination of Daylesford. It’s considered spa country with small boutique hotels, shops, restaurants and a lake. We are about an hour and half from the city of Melbourne.
As I walk toward the two story modern house, its characteristics catch my eye. The rough exterior and the pale yellow color make me laugh. It is truly made of straw. Wanting to build something earth friendly, the owners of the Chocolate Mill have created a structure that not only provides them with a home, but also a thriving business. I have never seen a house like this and to find it’s a chocolate shop, too, makes it that much more intriguing. A path bordered with stones and water leads to the front door, where a sign reads: “For the Serious Chocoholic.” I enter through the heavy wooden double doors into an oasis of chocolate bliss, a chocoholics dream. I’m taken aback by the aroma of the chocolate and the four children are giddy at the sight of it all. The sales floor is small in size but not in character. Two round tables with chairs invite the visitor to enjoy the Belgium chocolate delights handmade on the premises. Chris and Jennifer use the professional’s choice of Callebaut couverture chocolate. A Belgium company, Callebaut is the leading manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate, with more than 120 years’ experience. This is what makes the chocolate at the Chocolate Mill truly magical. Couverture chocolate requires tempering, but melts smoothly, finishes glossy and produces a thinner shell than other types of chocolates.
Beyond the selling room is an enclosed patio known as the Hot Chocolate Café. We visited in wintertime and were pleased to find the patio sheltering us from the outside cold. Long wooden picnic tables welcome us to sit and enjoy The Chocolate Mill’s famous offering “The Ultimate Hot Chocolate,” with a full range of chocolate choices from milk to extra dark and even soy. I tell my daughter that I heard they serve it in a toilet-shaped bowl. She and I were expecting a literal toilet. What we received was a slight V-shaped white ceramic cup with thin edges. “This isn’t a toilet bowl,” I announce to my cousin, my forehead and lips crinkled in mock disapproval. It’s actually a very modern shaped cup with a saucer. It is, however, the largest cup of hot chocolate I have ever seen. The dark hot chocolate I chose was rich without an overbearing sweetness. The smell and flavor are better than any I have ever tasted. When the liquid is gone I am faced with a dilemma. There is delicious-looking undercoat of chocolate at the bottom of the white cup. It is too thin to spoon out. It would be improper to use one’s finger. I guess it would be even worse to just lick it out of the bottom of the cup, but I am tempted. Chris and Jennifer’s home occupies the second floor. With smooth contemporary lines and varnished wood floors it is a cozy respite from the workings of their chocolate enterprise. Active in their community, Chris and Jennifer have contributed to several local non-profit organizations. In 2004 the Chocolate Mill received the Tabaret Goldfields Best New Business Award, given by the Tourism Department of Victoria to the most innovative businesses. The Chocolate Mill is located minutes from the spa country of Daylesford, Victoria, and about an hour and a half from Melbourne. Visit www.chocmill.com.au |
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Nestled in the woods and surrounded by
tranquility sits a non-descript building made of bales of straw.
Built by the owners Jennifer Gregory and Chris Weippert it was a
labor of love and learning. Started in 2001, the straw bale house
was completed and occupied by Jennifer and Chris in 2003. They named
it the Chocolate Mill.
The chocolate display case in the center of the
room features truffles, bon-bons and petit fours to entice even the
most discriminating chocolate lovers. Adjacent to the display case
is a window that allows guests to peer into the workings of a
chocolate mill. The sign above the window says it all: “Please do
not lick the glass.”