Questions
Get treats
Where can I buy? Do you have a store?
Do you ship?
Vegan
Are all of your products vegan?
Why vegan?
Can a vegan dessert really taste good?
Ingredients
Do you use real chocolate?
Are your treats allergy friendly?
Includes answers on animal products, gluten, sugar, palm oil and traces
Why are you selling stuff with sugar?
Other
How long do your treats last for / how do I store them?
Why do your products cost so much?
Help! What can I feed my vegan friend / family member?
How do I navigate special occasion meals with my non vegan family?
ORDER & RECEIVE TREATS
We don't sell ship ourselves but several of our chocolate stockists do, please check them out!
VEGAN
Yes! We're a passionately 100% vegan business and get a kick out of creating treats that stand up to traditional versions.
So yes that creamy, rich, decadent treat you're eating happens to also be 100% vegan, all the time, no exceptions.
In short - we love animals!
We think animal sanctuary Edgar's Mission says it best with their quote:
'If we could live happy and healthy lives without harming others... why wouldn't we?'
After going vegan in 2013 we missed some classic treats we used to indulge in. So in 2015 we set about veganising them in a way that maintained the classic taste.
Our focus is maintaining the rich, decadent tastes of non vegan treats, and replacing animal ingredients with plant based ones.
Because of this focus, our taste testing starts with non vegans. If they believe it tastes the same, it goes on the menu!
For more information about veganism check out Vegan Easy.
Yes!
We have many non vegan customers who buy our treats to share with their non vegan friends. They often sit back and wait for their friends to rave about how delicious the treats are, then surprise them with the news that they're vegan :)
At the end of the day, if it tastes great, anyone can enjoy it!
INGREDIENTS
Yes! We believe in decadent chocolates made using real couverture chocolate (meaning extra cocoa butter and no vegetable oil!) for shine, snap and silky smooth melt in your mouth sensational taste.
We use fair trade chocolate and direct trade chocolate to create smooth, rich chocolates that are socially responsible and delicious.
Often, but it depends on your allergy.
Animal products
We use products free from animals and animal derived ingredients. This means we don't don't use dairy, eggs, gelatine, carmine, cochineal or other sneaky animal derived products. We are a 100% vegan business.
We source our chocolate from a manufacturer who also produces dairy chocolate, which means that by law, we're obliged to tell you it may contain traces of dairy. They have supplied us with technical specifications of their allergen testing and we're satisfied with the results. Thankfully some ingredient manufacturers are catching on and planning to convert their factories to be vegan accredited, which involves building a separate warehouse with no shared ducting, doors etc.
Gluten free products
While our pastry menu evolves often, we always have gluten free options available. As with our chocolate above, these items are gluten free by ingredients but may contain traces as we also process gluten products on site.
Search items tagged 'gluten free' for more.
Current options available:
Sugar
We use white and/or brown sugar in our products so aren't sugar free.
Palm oil
Palm oil free products include:
The fillings of our cream filled products and the Cookies + Cream bar uses Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil.
Trace amounts
We take allergies seriously and take precautions to ensure our items are allergy friendly so everyone can enjoy our food. However as our kitchen produces items using wheat, nuts, peanuts and soy, traces may remain.
Feel free to ask us about your allergy needs.
Because sugar filled treats taste amazing!
Salad is awesome and treats are awesome. We happen to be talented at making treats, so that's what we do.
We believe in body autonomy and people making their own decisions about what to put into them.
We believe when eating treats, they should be damn tasty! Because life is too short for bad desserts - or body shaming <3
So eat all the treats, eat none, or some as part of a balanced diet. It's 100% up to you!
And if you have a cracking salad recipe, please send it over! Always great to have more to choose from x
OTHER
Retail chocolates
Eating your chocolates when they're fresh is best for taste and texture. However if properly stored, you can follow the expiry date marked on your products (ranging from 3 - 9 months). We think you'll have eaten them before then though :)
Custom chocolates
For ganache fillings, your chocolates will last two weeks, or for cream fillings they'll last several months. We think they'll be gone before then though :)
Chocolate storage
For the best shelf life and shine, keep your chocolates between 18°C - 22°C. Think of the same way you'd store red wine. Chocolate softens at 29°C and melts at 34°C, so choose a cool, dry and dark place like your pantry or any other cool place in your house.
Chocolate is sensitive and bon bons are the most sensitive of all. They don't like heat, light, water or temperature shocks and will soak up smells if left uncovered.
If you live in a warm area
Put chocolates in an airtight container or ziplock bag, then place in the fridge.
When you're ready to eat them, take out of the fridge and bring to room temperature for approx 1 hour (less on very warm days). Then enjoy!
Keep in mind that placing your chocolates in the fridge maybe remove some of their shine due to condensation.
Baked
When properly stored, baked items will keep for one week (fridge) or one month (freezer).
Store in an airtight container, or ziplock bag, and keep in the fridge or freezer.
Buying our items generally costs more than readily available non vegan versions. There are a few reasons for this:
1. We're fair to farmers
Cacao farmers deserve fair working conditions and fair prices for their labour and products. It's why we use fair trade chocolate + direct trade chocolate to create your treats.
It's a sad truth that many non fair trade chocolate farms have regularly been found to use poor practices such as child labour. Cacao farmers have often struggled to negotiate fair bean prices which leave their villages without funds to buy basic necessities such as water pumps.
Our luxury purchases at home aren't worth the impact they're having on farmers if this is the cost. Our society is better than this.
It's why our fair trade accredited chocolate and direct trade chocolate costs us more to buy than other options, but we believe it's more than worth it and will not compromise.
2. Our products are handmade
As an artisanal producer, we make our products by hand and employ skilled chocolatiers and pastry chefs who have honed their trade over many years.
Some competitors in our space operate massive factories which provide significant savings by removing most of the human labour from processes.
3. Some vegan ingredients cost more than non vegan ones
Which is really sad for the animals that we value a life less than a plant based version! The ingredients we use are thoroughly researched to ensure their safety for vegans.
We're confident you'll appreciate the time we put in to get your treats just right. But don't take our word for it - try them for yourself or check out our reviews on our Facebook page.
First - how awesome you are for caring enough to ask! High five for being a wonderful person who cares about giving great food to your vegan loved one. Massive (vegan) brownie points to you :)
I find the cuisines that are easiest to work with are Tex Mex (try bean and rice burritos using Bio Cheese), Thai (use tofu and swap fish and oyster sauces for soy sauce + lime juice), Lebanese (falafel wraps with hummus) and Indian (so many great veggie curries!).
The good news is there are stacks of blogs with great recipes to help. When I went vegan I used a lot of recipes from Vegangela, Oh She Glows, Vegan Richa and One Green Planet.
If you're based in Sydney you can even get premade vegan meals delivered to you! Check out Seeds to Feeds and Vegan Meals Delivered.
Then for your desserts, we can help. Order online to pick up from Rozelle, visit our stockists or swing by one of our market stalls to choose treats everyone can enjoy. We swear no one will guess they're vegan - until your vegan loved one digs in!
Chances are they're nervous about how to approach it as well.
Sometimes this shows in them asking lots of questions, other times new vegans can experience apprehension or fear from their loved ones. This makes more sense when you remember that as a culture, so much of our bonding happens over meals. When someone chooses to eat differently, this can be confronting and feel like a rejection of family traditions.
Sadly this apprehension can present as ignoring your wishes or outright rejection which can be a crushing blow.
We have an in depth blog post about navigating the waters coming soon. Watch this space!
Let us know and we'll be in touch. It might also end up appearing here :)