A chocolate lover’s guide to the Margaret River Region

At Gabriel Chocolate, you can see the chocolate machine at work through a viewing window, taste different origins and blends, and enjoy a coffee with a chocolatey treat in the café. The modern chocolate gallery is marketed as a playground for adults.

Single origin chocolate is made from beans from Venezuela, Ecuador, Ghana and Madagascar, and flavoured blends such as espresso, mint and orange are all popular.

The region’s first venue dedicated to chocolate swung open its doors in 1999. Known for offering generous tastings, the Margaret River Chocolate Company draws hundreds of visitors every day of the year, except for Christmas Day when they are closed.

Through the viewing window, you can see the chocolatiers sculpting handmade truffles, and making flavoured chocolate bars of salted caramel, mint chip, orange, coconut rough, sandalwood and cookies and cream. There are speciality chocolates, giant freckles, rocky road, chocolate-coated nougat, chocolate sauces, drinking chocolate, cocoa powder and even sugar-free chocolate.

The family-friendly factory utilises the vibrant flavour of single origin chocolate from Ghana, Tanzania, Java, Uganda, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea and Venezuela, and are sure to impress.

The Chocolate Café serves lunch – everything from burgers to salad to soup – and they boast the best brownies in Australia.

Rather than spending money on a holiday house in the 1990s, business partners Martin Black and Patrick Coward decided to open a chocolate factory instead.

“I’ve been a chocolate addict forever, and at the time, there weren’t many gourmet food experiences,” Black said. “We wanted to create an exciting place where visitors could have fun, and it went crazy from day one.”

“We use local honey, dried fruits and nuts, milk and creams – essentially local ingredients wherever we can.”

Yallingup Chocolate is from the same team behind Commonage Coffee Co, and they have replicated the chilled-out vibes in the beautiful store. Browse the range of tasty locally-made chocolate wrapped in beautiful surf imagery by legendary photographer Ric Chan (it makes a perfect gift if you can refrain from saving it for yourself), and then enjoy coffee and a treat in the shady backyard. It’s the quintessential Yallingup experience, laid-back yet elevated.

Temper Temper is a wonderland for chocolate lovers, situated in the heart of Cowaramup. Visit the colourful and creative store & chocolate factory to experience the huge range, plus a selection of gifts such as ceramics, cocoa butter skincare, candles and more.

Chocolatiers Roz Koeppen and Georgia Aughton are the team behind the endless chocolate creations. Some of their incredible formulations include the gold medal-winning “Cauliflower, Caramel & Chilli”, “Honeycomb & Dukkah”, “Coconut & Wasabi”, and “Ginger Togarachi” to name but a few.