New Zealand shines on the global chocolate map, scooping up awards across the board at the Academy of Chocolate 2025.

Having spent an inspiring few weeks last October judging for the UK’s Academy of Chocolate, I eagerly scrolled through the email in December announcing the winners. I knew New Zealand was in a strong position, but when the results came through I was blown away. Thirty medals, from just five makers in a country of barely 5.2 million people.

New Zealand may frequently get missed off world maps for all sorts of things, but our place was now even more firmly solidified on the world chocolate map!

Since then I’ve dug a little deeper into the stats and put those results into perspective. When you look at the awards per capita (ok, I geeked out and spent time crunching some numbers, possibly more time than is entirely healthy for someone who hates maths!), New Zealand sits first globally. Not first in the Pacific, not first among small nations. First in the entire world when you look at those figures per capita. We had a whopping 5.77 awards per million people. We’ve successfully outperformed Switzerland (0.79), Belgium (0.51), France (0.38), and Italy (0.19), countries with centuries of chocolate-making tradition with chocolate almost a part of their national identity. Countries whose names are practically synonymous with chocolate.

We did this with five makers, who between them pulled off something extraordinary. Now let’s peel back the wrapper on each of these makers, for a little taste into the passion, precision and dedication that produces award winning chocolate here in New Zealand.

The Wairarapa Wonder

Johnty Tatham of Lucid Chocolatier, Riversdale, is a quietly passionate maker with an almost obsessive love for rare Peruvian cacao. At just 26 he is the youngest (and most awarded) of the New Zealand chocolate makers and chocolatiers who won Academy awards this year. There is something in the way he talks about the farmers he collaborates with, and beans he uses that tells you he produces something special. He’s already won the Supreme Award at the last NZ Chocolate Awards held in 2022 with his Port bar, which I and fellow expert judges had the privilege of sampling. I remember being so impressed that year by so many makers like Johnty, thinking then that New Zealand chocolate really is world class, I just knew we were onto something really special.

Looking at the Academy of Chocolate 2025 results, and his first time entering these, or any, international awards, Johnty cleaned up with fourteen medals to his name. That’s impressive for any entrant, let alone a first timer. One gold, seven silver, six bronze. His gold came for a 72% Marañon bar – beans from one of the world’s rarest, most sought-after cacao varieties. But what really gets me is the range. Plain dark bars showcasing different Peruvian origins, yes, but also exquisite flavoured bars with Port, Yuzu, Muscat, Sauternes. Milk chocolates with tonka bean, sourdough, mulberry. Even a “blonde” chocolate – white chocolate gently caramelized to give it that little extra mystery.

Every single one of these bars tells a story about terroir, about process, about a maker who refuses to take shortcuts. And now the world knows what those of us in New Zealand’s chocolate scene have known for a few years now: Jonty Tatham is the real deal.

The Mahurangi Masters

Foundry Chocolate David Herrick in Roastery David and Janelle Herrick of Foundry Chocolate, Silverdale, Auckland, have been on my radar since I first met David at a chocolate festival in Wellington in 2018. Shortly after they started making waves taking out the Supreme Award at the New Zealand Chocolate Awards 2020, and shining at several Outstanding Food Producer Awards. Their philosophy is beautifully simple, almost monk-like in its purity: two ingredients – cacao beans and organic cane sugar. Nothing else. No emulsifiers, no added cacao butter, nothing to get in the way of what David calls “letting the beans do the talking”.

This years awards were a celebration of that philosophy. Seven medals, including a gold for their Korosim Microlots bar from Solomon Islands beans. Four silvers, featuring beans spanning India (70% and 100%), Vanuatu, and Uganda. It’s passion in every step of their craft. Janelle sketching out each wrapper design, personalised to each bar drop. David hand-wrapping every bar in their Mahurangi workshop, testing batch after batch to nail the perfect roast profile. These medals are the international chocolate scene recognising that level of dedication.

Let’s just come back to that Solomon Islands bar for a brief moment. The first bite hits you with silky caramel, or almost crème brûlée notes, that give way to a surprising light zestiness, so moreish. But it’s just chocolate, no added flavours. This just shows what flavours two ingredient, unadulterated, craft chocolate can really bring out when you know what you are doing.

The Coromandel Innovator

Tom Capdevielle Coromandel Chocolate Thomas, the French mastermind behind Coromandel Chocolate, Whangamata, is building something special in this small surfing town. Every single bar makes you rethink what chocolate can be. Hojicha (an exquisitely roasted Japanese green tea) paired with milk chocolate received a silver medal. Milk chocolate & Oolong tea. White chocolate & Matcha. White chocolate & Ube, the vibrant purple yam beloved across Asia; all bronze medals. Four well deserved awards.

In an industry often dominated by European and South American flavour profiles, Coromandel is looking to their Pacific and Asian neighbours for inspiration. It is a true celebration of Pacific beans sourced sourced only from Gaston Chocolate in Vanuatu. A New Zealand maker drawing on the incredible ingredients and flavour traditions that surround us. The 48% milk chocolate with Hojicha gives that roasted, slightly smoky depth, playing against the creamy milk chocolate. Creating an experience familiar to the palate yet entirely new. A celebration of both a concept, of expertly combining tea and chocolate in one delectable edible morsel, and a maker that is one to watch for years to come.

The Christchurch Visionary

Nel Vincensio - Mind Your Temper Nel Vincencio behind Mind Your Temper, Burnside, is the only South Island and Vegan chocolatier to enter the Academy of Chocolate Awards 2025. Another first time entrant, and unsurprisingly an award winner. Winning the 2024 Supreme Award at the NZ Outstanding Food Producer Awards it was clear he had a special talent. I had the privilege of visiting Nel in Christchurch recently, in his workshop of wonder near the airport. There he told me about coming from the Philippines through Seattle to settle in New Zealand. How lucky are we as a nation he did. From discovering his talent for chocolate almost by accident during COVID lockdown, winning three awards at the AOC shows how a talented patisserie maker can turn his talent to chocolate.

Three medals for his bonbons. A silver for the Miso Caramel and Hazelnut creation that honestly just keeps you coming back for more. His Drunken Apple Pie Bonbon and Hot Cross Bon / Spiced Orange Bonbon both won bronze and just leaves you in awe at how these can be so delectable, yet Vegan.

Nel makes the technical precision required to make plant-based ganache that rivals anything made with cream look easy. His bonbons are small works of art, glossy and perfectly decorated, and these international medals prove they are as moreish as they look.

What makes these creations even more magical, is that like these other New Zealand winners, Nel likes to keep it local. His couverture being sourced from one of our fellow award winners – Lucid! Nel really is the epitome of the Kiwi spirit of curiosity, openness and experimentation, and this is exactly what makes the New Zealand chocolate scene so special.

The Indigenous Connection

Thomas Wright - Ao Cacao Thomas Netana Wright of Ao Cacao, Auckland, was New Zealand’s only indigenous bean to bar chocolatier representing at the Academy of Chocolate 2025 awards, and he hoovered up two bronzes. One for 94% dark chocolate, made with beans from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. A pure expression and celebration of what can be produced with beans grown by our Pacific cacao neighbours. Thomas’ other bronze was for a bar so delightfully Kiwi; a 60% chocolate with New Zealand black truffle and hazelnut bar, giving Thomas even more opportunity to explore amazing ingredients in his own back yard.

Thomas is a highly-regarded chocolatier pastry chef who honed his skills globally. Working for the likes of Britain’s Best Chocolatier William Curley in London UK, and Michellin star kitchens in Europe and the USA, including The French Laundry in Calfornia, before starting his own indigenous bean-to-bar chocolaterie in central Auckland. His ingredients choices focus on South Pacific and local origins; sugar from Fiji, cacao from the Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea, black truffles from the only Māori owned truffle farm in Ōhiwa, along with hazelnuts also sourced here in NZ.

A pastry chef and chocolatier with deep roots in craftsmanship and a passion for Pacific origins with whakapapa to Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whatua & Te Whakatohea. Drawing inspiration from his family’s heritage, including the historic Wright’s Dairy in Chelsea, London, he effortlessly combines artisanal mastery with ethical sourcing practices. Creating chocolate that is luxurious, meaningful, and straight from the heart.

But what does this all mean?

Here’s where it gets really interesting (I promise I’ll try not to bore you with all the stats). Tied with Japan, New Zealand sits fifth globally by total medal count for the Academy awards 2025 – an achievement in itself when you consider our size. We’re behind Thailand (94 awards), United States (73), United Kingdom (51), and Brazil (42). Those are big countries with big chocolate scenes.

But when you look at efficiency (average medals per awarded maker) New Zealand is number one globally, averaging 6 awards per maker. Thailand averaged 4.27 awards per maker. The US managed 3.53, the UK 2.63. It is a huge celebration of our local talent from across the country. It’s not just good, it’s exceptional.

As for the gold medals? New Zealand claimed two – Foundry’s Solomon Islands bar and Jonty’s Marañon. With our modest population, that translates to 0.385 gold medals per million people, yet another top world ranking. Comparatively, Switzerland, the land of Toblerone and centuries of chocolate tradition, managed 0.112 gold medals per million.

I keep coming back to these figures because they tell us something important. This isn’t one exceptional maker getting lucky. This is a small but mighty chocolate community consistently producing world-class chocolate. Since 2017 New Zealand makers have been entering (and winning) at the Academy of Chocolate Awards with the likes of Hogarth Chocolate and Solomon’s Gold. 2025 was no exception and just proves the growing talent on our shores.

The Secret (That’s Not Really a Secret)

It’s clear through the delivery of such delectable expertly created chocolate products what drives these makers’ success. It’s not magic. It’s work, passion, and unwavering commitment to a beautiful yet challenging multi-faceted industry that brings so much joy to so many people.

Despite the New Zealand ‘she’ll be right’ and ‘number eight wire’ approach we are sometimes famous for, there’s also an incredibly strong work ethos. An obsession almost. It is about getting things right through proper grafting and determination. We’re a nation of tinkerers and perfectionists. People who’ll spend months tweaking a recipe or a process until it’s exactly what they want. David at Foundry adjusting roast profiles by the degree. Jonty sourcing beans from single farms, single harvests, building relationships with growers in Peru.

There’s a willingness to experiment that seems baked into our national character. We’re not bound by tradition because we don’t have centuries of chocolate-making tradition in our culture to be bound by. So Coromandel can play with ube and Hojicha, Ao Cacao can celebrate a unique and strong indigenous heritage and Pacific island beans, and Nel can make entirely plant-based bonbons. All of which win international medals.

Then there’s scale, or rather, the lack of it. Being small means these makers can focus on micro-batches, on perfection over production volume. They can take risks. They can age chocolate for weeks, experiment with rare beans, try flavour combinations that might not work. When your entire operation fits in a workshop, you can be agile in ways that bigger producers simply can’t.

Then there’s the maker and producer community itself. A tight-knit group of knowledge-sharers who support each other and celebrate each other’s wins. When one succeeds, it creates a pathway for everyone else. It shows what’s possible.

That community goes further than what exists within the New Zealand chocolate industry. It brings together and strengthens ties with our Pacific brothers and sisters. Enabling their livelihoods, their heritage and culture to shine through in the bars created across the motu. Here is to our deeply passionate artisans, award winners, leaders of delight, who want to share the pure joy and taste adventure of the humble cacao bean with you.

The final delectable morsel

I’ve been thinking about what this means, not just for these five makers but for New Zealand’s food story. We’ve done this before. With wine, coffee, craft beer. We take something, we obsess over it, we do it our way, and suddenly the world pays attention. Chocolate is following the same trajectory, and I for one, couldn’t be more proud of us.

If you haven’t tried chocolate from these makers yet, now’s the time. Not just because they’ve won medals, of which they deserve every single one. But because they’re making chocolate that tells a story. Of rare Peruvian beans, of Pacific island cacao, of locally sourced ingredients. One small nation putting itself squarely on the world’s chocolate map.

Five makers. Thirty medals. One undeniable truth: New Zealand chocolate has well and truly arrived.