Tucked by the sea on the Mornington Peninsula, the tiny town of Flinders (population: 905) is a two-hour drive south of Melbourne. Charming and idyllic, there are virtually no tall buildings here. The main street is a wide expanse lined with beautifully manicured lawns and quaint shopfronts, some (like the post office and general store) which date back to the 19th century, when the town was founded.
That isn’t to say that there isn’t anything to do in Flinders – quite the opposite. I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite being away from the city centre, there’s lots to do in town for visitors, from art galleries and golf courses, to nature trails, beaches and scuba diving sites.
If you’re a chocolate or ice cream lover, then more reason to visit as Flinders is home to the Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery, which was opened in December 2018 by husband and wife team Ian and Leanne Neeland (who are also behind the highly popular Yarra Valley and Great Ocean Road Chocolateries). The shop was packed with customers during our visit on a Saturday, as staff bustled about handing out free samples and introducing their best flavours. The store offers a whopping 180 different chocolate varieties!
Aside from ready-packed boxes you can get as souvenirs, the chocolaterie also offers handcrafted artisan chocolates, which form a colourful tapestry on display – each looking prettier than the last! The team behind these mini masterpieces are European chocolatiers, and you can watch them in action at the store and get an insight into the art of chocolate making.
Better yet, try your hand at making chocolates, by joining one of the chocolaterie’s private Chocolate Discovery Classes. While you won’t be a master chocolatier anytime soon (that takes years of hard work and diligence!) it’s a great way to learn more about the art, and also take some of the chocolates you ‘make’ home.
Our session started off with tastings, and there were a variety of flavours to sample from. I like super dark chocolates, so the single origin cocoas were right up my alley, but I also liked the floral with its sweet, flowery scent, the spicy notes of the Buderim ginger, as well as the tangy hint from the Violet Forest Berries.
More truffles for sampling!
Our chocolatier, a French lady (whose name slips my mind – I think it was Anne) guided us to create two chocolate items – chocolate bars (which we could fill up with our favourite toppings), as well as a chocolate lollipop to decorate. For the bar, after we made the ‘base’, we had to pour the chocolate over to seal up the toppings, which was easier said than done as we had to be quick with our hands, or the chocolate would spill over.
I have the artistic capability of a five-year old. I think some five-year olds can probably make something better than this lol. Nevertheless, we had lots of fun and we left with plenty of chocolate (and some extra, to boot).
MORNINGTON PENINSULA CHOCOLATERIE & ICE CREAMERY
45 Cook St, Flinders VIC 3929, Australia
Opening hours: 9AM – 5PM (daily)
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