Margaret River Chocolate Company and Providore
We ate some incredible food on our trip to the Margaret River region, but the most unusual was probably the curry chocolate truffle at Margaret River Chocolate Company. I never would’ve guessed curry and chocolate would combine so harmoniously – I’m serious.
General Manager Daniel had a selection of chocolate truffles for us to taste – vanilla, green tea (with white chocolate), praline, lemon, caramel and of course, that curry truffle. Lemon and caramel were my favourites of the ‘traditional’ flavours, but curry had a unique savoury taste. It definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste – don’t say I didn’t warn you – but I liked it so much I bought some curry truffles to take home.
The Margaret River Chocolate Company was established in 1999 and is a favourite stop for visitors to the region. They sell chocolate and other chocolate-related products, and have a cafe where you can have a light lunch, coffee and cake, ice cream or a chocolatey treat, such as milk or dark chocolate fondue, and ‘real’ hot chocolate made with milk, white or dark chocolate melted in hot milk. But I think the feature most visitors love is the free chocolate buttons (milk, dark and white) – for chocoholics, it’s hard to beat munching on chocolate while shopping for chocolate.
While the store is clearly a successful commercial enterprise, the human touch still reigns supreme; the chocolate is handcrafted from Belgian couverture (you can watch the chocolatier at work in-store through the viewing window) and it is all packaged by hand. I asked Daniel what the top sellers are, and he told me good old plain milk and dark chocolate blocks and Giant Freckles are the current winners.
I’ve now been to all three Margaret River Chocolate Company stores (Margaret River, Swan Valley and Perth CBD) but I’ll remember this visit as the one in which I fell in love with a surprising curry chocolate truffle.
Chocolate truffle tasting – pictured starting from the top: vanilla, curry, green tea (with white chocolate), praline, lemon and caramel – one of each for Jac, Daniel and me
A bit of trivia: our younger cat Truffle was named after chocolate truffle, not fungus truffle
Margaret River Chocolate CompanyA few minutes up the road is Providore, Margaret River Chocolate Company’s sister business, where a spectacular array of gourmet goodies are made from produce sourced from Providore’s own vineyards, olive grove, orchards, and the organic vegetable gardens where Providore’s chefs start their day.
The store serves as the cellar door for Coward and Black wines, named after the childhood friends and business partners who founded the Margaret River Chocolate Company and Providore. The wines are available exclusively at the Margaret River and Swan Valley cellar doors or online.
There are free sampling stations throughout the store and we wandered around happily tasting: passionfruit curd and lemon curd; spicy Shiraz steak sauce; syrupy vino cotto; olive oils and dukkah; Indian-style spicy pickles and chutneys… There’s something very appealing and satisfying in knowing that the zucchini in the aromatic pickle you’re enjoying was grown in the garden just outside the kitchen, and the lemons in the incredibly tasty curd (which you find yourself unable to stop eating) came from the citrus orchard right just a short stroll away. While we were there, the latest batch of strawberry jam came fresh out of the kitchen for tasting, still tantalisingly warm.
We tried all four varieties of Coward and Black’s indulgent chocolate liqueur Sambarino – Chocolate, Hazelnut (my favourite), Macchiato, and After Dinner Mint. It can be enjoyed on its own, with milk on ice, added to hot chocolate, drizzled on a cake or poured over ice cream as a decadent topping. If you like the idea of booze and chocolate, you’ll probably love it.
Every taste at Providore is a reminder of why the Margaret River region is a must-visit destination for gourmands and gluttons. I recommend visiting when you’re a little hungry; dropping by when ravenous could be very dangerous!
Margaret River Providore
Shiraz steak sauce, handmade in small batches from Providore’s Margaret River estate grown grapes. We’ve got a bottle in our pantry – can’t wait to try it on pork chops or steak
There was freshly made, still warm strawberry jam to taste.
Sambarino liqueur comes in Chocolate, Hazelnut, Macchiato and After Dinner Mint varieties
Providore’s organic kitchen garden
Margaret River Chocolate Company
Cnr Harman’s Mill Road and Tom Cullity Drive
Metricup WA 6280
Ph: (08) 9755 6555
Also: Swan Valley and Perth City Concept Store (next to Country Road on Murray St)
Providore
448 Tom Cullity Drive
Wilyabrup WA 6280
Telephone: (08) 9755 6355
Also: Swan Valley and Perth City (both stores next to Margaret River Chocolate Co)
About this trip and this series – Margaret River 2014
We visited the Margaret River region in the south west of Western Australia for four days in May as guests of the Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association and were hosted by restaurants and businesses in the region.
We drove to the region and used a Margaret River Region Map to guide us to the stops on our itinerary.
The full list of blog posts from this trip is below, in reading order:
- Discovery Menu, Voyager Estate, Margaret River
- Bettenay’s – Margaret River Nougat Company
- Dining in Margaret River town
- Lake Cave, Margaret River
- Brookwood Estate
- Margaret River Chocolate Company and Providore – this post
- Margaret River Farmers Market
- The Berry Farm, Rosa Glen
- Two days in Yallingup, Part 1
- Goanna Gallery Cafe, Dunsborough
- Two days in Yallingup, Part 2 – Aravina Estate
For more information about visiting the Margaret River region including how to get there, visit margaretriver.com