Luke Owen-Smith: Chockstock Festival Co-Founder on the festival and growth of the industry

Wellington is gearing up for a weekend of indulgence with a huge chocolate festival in town. 

Chockstock is coming to the Harbourside Function Centre with chocolate tasting sessions starting this evening and wrapping up Sunday afternoon. 

More than 25 chocolate makers will feature in the exhibition. 

Co-Founder Luke Owen-Smith told Mike Hosking that the craft chocolate industry's growing. 

He says there are three times the chocolate makers there were a few years ago. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Six away from my country is only festival dedicated entirely
the chocolate's on today. Chalk Stock brings producers from across
the Pacific to the capital of The co founder was
Luke o Ian Smith, who's well, there's Luke morning.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
I do one block of dark one hundred per day.
What about you?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Oh wow, I'm surprised to hear that. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
I love when I say sorry, when I say block,
I don't mean a block. I mean a look, a piece,
an individual, a little square.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah. Yeah, I love having a piece of one hundred
percent with my cup of tea in the morning.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yeah, exactly. So a block a day keeps the I
don't know what it keeps away, but it's it's It's
good for you, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
It's good for you for sure, Yeah, especially one hundred percent.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Are you? Are you freaking out about the price of cocal.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Well, I'm not a chocolate maker, so I'm not so much.
But I think I think the chocolate makers are definitely
having some struggles. It's yeah, I mean, so what do
you talk about everything else?

Speaker 1 (00:49):
You're just an entrepreneur's got no relationship with chocolate at all,
and you just gone I know I'm going to organize
a chalk stock festival.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
So I've worked in the chocolate industry for about ten years.
I used to have a tail shops selling craft chocolate
from all around the world, and then I do like
journalism and chocolate judging and organizing this event. So yeah,
all sorts of things.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
What to chocolate judging. What's your view on people who
stick random crep inside the chocolate? Like people?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Then I guess, you know, I think it can be good,
but it has to be done well. You know, personally
I tend to stick more to the single origin stuff,
but I do like a good flavored boo and it's
done well.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Exactly how BIG's the festival? And I asked that because
of course you'll be aware of and those sort of thing.
You know, the craft chocolate industry seems to be like
the craft beer industry. It seems to be slightly problematic
at the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well it's ocho isn't exactly relevant of everything that's going on,
but it's it's still quite a new, young movement, I
would say, So we're we're growing quite a lot. Like
there's about ten times the makers, ten times three times
the makers. There were a few years ago right now,
so it's it's kind of it's blossoming, but with early days,

(02:00):
we haven't quite reached where craft chocolate craft areas at
the moment, and we're still.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Do we have a sorry to wonder, right, do we
have a sophisticated pelot? I mean, do people know what
they're tasting and want to taste in their profiles and
all that sort of stuff.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
I think it's developed a lot of the last ten years,
but I think there's still a way to go. When
you compare it to wine, you know, where you know,
if you have someone what wine they're like, they'll probably
tell you like a cab sav or whatever. Whereas if
you have them what chocolate they're like, they might just
say like dark or milk. You know. It's like that
level of understanding of the complexity. But it's it's changed

(02:37):
a lot in the last ten years, and it will
still change more.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
How long you've been in the country.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Look about twelve thirteen years.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Are you voting in the election?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I imagine I will, Oh you mean the UK? Yeah, yeah, yes,
I probably will. Yeah, I need to check if my
brother can do my proxy vote.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
But likes they changed the rule. You can vote forever
now expect right and yeah literally forever.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, I always have voted since I last Yeah, good.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
On, well, go well with the festival this weekend. Appreciate
it very much, Luke Owen Smith. You see how random
that interview was, then come on, you want to get
that on Morning Report. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news Talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
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