Two enterprising local couples who dreamt big for their chocolate and ice cream-making endeavours have now taken their start-ups to a new level – just 10 minutes out of town to a dairy farm with a difference up on Te Hutewai Rd.
That farm is Dreamview, owned and operated by the Hill family, who five years ago started bottling their own milk, a venture that became such a success they’ve stopped supplying Fonterra altogether.
And last Sunday there was a combined function to mark the arrival on site not only of the Hills’ new purpose-built creamery but also the two fledgling businesses – Raglan Chocolate and Raglan Gelato – which now operate from their own factories on the farm.
“We want to celebrate this food collective with everyone who has supported us so far,” creamery manager Jess Hill said on invites to the event, tagged as ‘Dreamtime’.
That turned out to be quite a few. About 100 friends, family, stockists and tradies turned up to while away the afternoon and to see the new creamery, the gelato-making factory now housed in the container which was the old creamery, and the new poly-panel steel cabins – not unlike flashy shipping containers – where chocolate is made.
Along with free tastings there was the more serious business of finding out just how these local sweet treats are being created.
Mike Renfree – “looking very professional”, as one onlooker commented – showed how cacao beans are first made into very big blocks of chocolate which are then melted down in a tempering machine to become small blocks.
It’s all about the tempering, Mike’s partner Simone Downey explained – “getting the snap and the shine” just right.
Simone wraps the blocks of chocolate, dealing with orders and emails along the way, from the couple’s home in Cambrae Rd, which is where the business started off five years ago.
The couple recall being “blown away” by the interest when they launched their chocolate at Raglan’s monthly creative market.
Mike had a background in food technology but wanted out of the corporate world to do his own thing. And now it’s just so much fun, he says. “Chocolate sucked me in!”
His vision was always to make chocolate that’s not only good but also ethical. So the beans are sourced from the Pacific people – specifically from the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. “It’s an amazing untapped resource there,” he adds.
Lars and Hanna Allouard’s story is also one of humble beginnings for their Raglan Gelato. Starting out in the Old School kitchen only 18 months ago, this German/French couple then moved their ice cream-making operation late last year to the 20-foot container which served as Dreamview Farm’s first creamery.
“We always came up here for our milk anyway,” says Lars.
Lars was a local cabinet-maker but reckons making ice cream is lots more fun. He decided to pursue his long-held dream despite also thinking it was a crazy idea.
So during the Covid lockdown of 2021 he tackled an intensive online course through the Gelato University – yes, there really is one – near Bologna in Italy. The couple now delight in “making people happy”, moving their gleaming gelato cart around town and to festivals.
For their part the Hill family – parents Dave and Bronwyn along with adult children Jess, Matthew and Kathy – are delighted at the collaboration of the three businesses now based up on the farm.
The Dreamview team has grown to include 11 staff members, six refrigerated delivery trucks, the new creamery, and a pasteurisation facility.
Now with Raglan Chocolate and Raglan Gelato on site it’s, well, a dream come true.
