People often ask me what it is that I do. The answer I give surprises and delights them, for I say, “I have a chocolate factory!”
The Willy Wonka-style reference to a chocolate factory is my tribute to Constantinos Fardoulis. It was his idea and creation, driven by our passion and perseverance, that has become Fardoulis Chocolates. In 1985, when we began our fabulous chocolate journey, I had no idea of how to make chocolate. Tempering, viscosity, enrobing, blooming and couverture — the language of Belgium, Swiss and French chocolate artisans — were unknown to me.
As Constantinos (Willy Wonka) always says: Temperature is ambience! Couverture is pure!
TEAMWORK
It was always our dream to combine our skills to make fine, handmade Australian chocolates. Constantinos’ work as a chocolate maker was complemented by my love for beautiful fabrics, cotton threads, drafting patterns and dressmaking, a fascination I carried into the design side of the business.
In the early days, Constantinos experimented with flavours and fillings, while I was choosing beautifully coloured foils and designing small gift boxes as bonbonniere. Among our early creations were these gift boxes as wedding gifts.
It was also the early days for online sales, and Fardoulis Chocolates began to earn our reputation for both quality and customer service — our guiding philosophy. It’s an ethos we stick closely to today. We understand that our customers are our first priority. Without them, we don’t have a business!
Chocolate making has become a never-ending fascination for me as we go further on our delicious journey. But we’re never satisfied with our achievements as one of Australia’s finest makers of quality couverture chocolates. Our latest goal is to conquer the chocolate hamper market. Join us on our journey
