My friend Emilie had her birthday this week and she decided to take us to Haigh's Chocolate Factory for a tour. Haigh's Chocolates is an Adelaide-based chocolatier with its flagship store at Beehive Corner in Rundle Mall.
The visitors center is right outside South Terrace, so we only had to take the tram a few stops from the university. The tour started with chocolate samples and history of the company, which was started in 1915. Haigh's Chocolates is the oldest family-owned chocolate maker in Australia. The original founder's grandson, John Haigh, trained with Lindt and Sprungli in Switzerland. The techniques of production that he brought back helped to expand the company.
After telling us about the history, the tour guide took us through the factory. Employees were still pouring chocolate in molds by hand. According to the tour guide, employees have to start by working in other areas of the factory before working with truffles and hand-poured chocolates. The repetition and focus on detail make it the most one of the most difficult jobs in the factory.
My favorite part of the factory was the "seconds shelf". Products that have visible imperfections are sold at a discount in the factory gift shop. I bought a peppermint chocolate bar and it was definitely one of the best chocolate bars I have ever had.