• It's not just about the chocolate: Interview with Karen from Heart of Chocolate.

Ok, I am a chocolate snob, but I do have a social conscience too. So I was extremely pleased to taste the Heart of Chocolate range – it was delicious as well as Fairtrade. Not only has the founder, Karen, had the drive to start her own business, but her determination to promote Fairtrade is inspirational.

What inspired you to import Fairtrade chocolate?
When I first heard that child slavery still occurs in the cocoa industry, I couldn't believe my ears.

I am an absolute chocoholic and always have been. As I started to look for fairtrade chocolate in the stores, not only was it difficult to find but there was such limited choice!

Why Divine?
Divine has an incredible story in that not only is the chocolate certified Fairtrade, but Divine is 45% owned by the Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers' co-operative in Ghana. This means that the co-operative have representation on the directors' board of Divine, and a say in what happens to the overall company. This has helped them fund schools, microfinance loans, mobile medical clinics and clean drinking water for the cocoa farmers' communities.

Also, I love the taste. Many people have commented on the beautiful packaging and the fairtrade benefits but once having tasted it, people come back again... and again... and again...

Beautiful packaging with traditional symbols. 


What are some of the best moments?
Watching people's faces light up when they taste the chocolate for the first time and say 'this is really good!' or the thoughtful 'mmmm' and look of appreciation. This makes me confident that I have a wonderful product and that it's only a matter of time before the word spreads!

What is your favourite chocolate in the range?
This is a really hard question! At the moment I have a soft spot for white chocolate with strawberries. It's creamy and smooth with a slight tang, completely different to any other chocolate flavour.  We've had rave reviews about it!

What’s next for you and Heart of Chocolate?
Well, it's been 7 months since we started and said "If it doesn't work, we'll just eat the stock". Heart of Chocolate's just signed up to the "Paris to Provence" festival and will be exhibiting at the Como Gardens on November 25-26.  We never know where this adventure might lead us.

Competition
We’re giving our readers the chance to win a Heart of Chocolate prize pack so that they can sample the range themselves.
The prize (valued at $80):
  • Dark Chocolate Covered Apricots
  • Dark Chocolate Covered Salted Fudge
  • 5 x 100g bars: Dark Raspberry, Dark Mint, Dark Ginger Orange, Milk Coffee, White Chocolate with Strawberries
  • 6 x 45g bars: Dark, 2 x Milk Butterscotch, Milk Orange, Milk, White
To enter:
  1. In the comments below tell us: Which Heart of Chocolate flavour would you like to try the most, and why?
  2. “Like” Heart of Chocolate and Nouveau Potato on Facebook
Good luck!

If you do not win this time round, you can always purchase online at www.heartofchocolate.com.


Terms and conditions:
The competition closes at 5pm AEDT on 21 November 2011. The winner will be announced on the Nouveau Potato blog by 23 November 2011. The winner will be notified via Facebook and must reply within three days of being notified, or the prize will go to the runner up entrant. The winner will be judged by Karen and Elisa on the merit and creativity of their response. The judges’ decision is final. Entrants must live in Australia and have an Australian postal address.