Hogarth Chocolate Makers

Karl Hogarth spent twenty years as a commercial fisherman, becoming skipper of his own trawler by the age of 26 and taking weeks-long voyages – heading deep into the Pacific and down to the Auckland Islands. When he finally came ashore, he embarked on an overdue trip abroad that took him through Southeast Asia and on to Central and South America – where two life-changing things happened. In Guatemala, he tasted real cacao for the first time and became obsessed with how chocolate is made. In Buenos Aires, he met Marina, who became his wife, fellow chocolate maker, and business partner. As he puts it, with both he thought: where have you been all my life?

That curiosity led the pair to teach themselves chocolate making and eventually establish Hogarth Chocolate Makers in Nelson, where they craft bean-to-bar chocolate using exceptional cacao from Hacienda Victoria in Ecuador. The packaging, developed with artist Ana Aceves of Sugarcube Studios, illustrates Karl's journey from sailor to chocolate maker – and the long voyage the cacao takes to reach their corner of the South Pacific. For Karl and Marina, the best things in life have always been worth the long voyage to find them.