A chocolate bar made with sea salt and kelp has landed a Dunedin chocolatier in the running for a national food award. Ka kā wā has been named one of 10 finalists for the artisan award in Massey University’s New Zealand Food Awards, for its 70% Celtic and New Zealand sea salt with kelp chocolate bar. Ka kā wā founder Marōtini said it was the first time she had entered any of her products into the competition and she was excited to be a finalist. The chocolate bar was made with cacao from Papua New Guinea and was mixed with New Zealand and Celtic sea salt “with a bit of kelp sprinkled into it”. The salt brought out the flavour of the cacao and, as far as she was aware, no-one else was working with kelp. It was designed to honour both sides of her whakapapa, Marōtini said. “Really, it’s about storytelling for us — being able to honour that beautiful Pacific origin of cacao and then bringing the context of New Zealand and Aotearoa into that as well.” Based in Waitati, Ka kā wā started nearly three years ago. She did all the production herself and her cousin did the website and packaging design. Chocolate as it was found on supermarket shelves was not real chocolate, Marōtini said. “Cacao actually has lots of medicinal properties and we want people to access those but still be able to have those treats. “We only make dark chocolate. For us, it’s more about health and wellbeing, so we don’t make anything under 70% [cacao] because we want people to access the medicinal benefits of the cacao rather than just getting that dopamine hit of sugary treats.” She wanted to change the conversation around chocolate and how it was a part of people’s daily lives. “Food is medicine,” Marōtini said. “It sustains us, it nourishes us, it gives us all those good things that we need every day and so that’s how we should be respecting food in that kind of capacity. “It’s a really huge conversation and if I can have this conversation just through this one block of chocolate, then that’s winning for me.” The winners of each category will be announced at a black-tie gala dinner in Auckland on October 13. tim.scott@odt.co.nz
