Belgian chocolatiers master the art of the Australian rocky road

A high-end chocolate emporium in Australia has brought over six chocolatiers from Belgium to work at the popular attraction, which opened in December last year and now employs 72 people, writes the Weekly Times’ Johanna Leggatt. But the Belgian ‘imports’ at the new Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery first had to familiarise themselves  with Australian ‘rocky road’; while Belgian chocolatiers love truffles, nougat, macaroons and fudge, the prospect of mixing marshmallow, jellies, and nuts and coating it in a rich chocolate is unthinkable to them. “I had never heard of this rocky road before,’’ confesses chocolatier Valerie Goddeeris who moved to the Yarra Valley from Brussels a little less than a year ago. “It is not something we would do in Belgium. And I can say I am not a big fan of the taste.” Nevertheless, she has become an expert at making rocky road – white, milk and dark – in her role as chocolatier. “Most of the chocolatiers don’t like rocky road, and they find it too sweet and not traditional,’’ confirms executive director of the chocolaterie, Ian Neeland. “But it absolutely walks out of the door here. Almost every person has a bar of our rocky road.” The chocolaterie packaging and signage is a riot of candy colours, and there is, of all things, a Great Wall of Chocolate, which features highly popular honeycomb-coated chocolate. There are chocolate-covered snakes and freckles for children and in the centre of the space is the elaborate truffle cabinet, featuring some 5,000 truffles at any one time, all of which are made by the Belgian experts. The truffle bar allows visitors to taste a range of flavours that would be exotic to the most adventurous of palates: bush tomato, passion-fruit, and champagne, are just a few on offer.