Bull Rush Chocolate

(The Story So Far)

2005
Young mother of two Nadine dreams about chillies. She wakes her husband up and announces that from this day forth, she shall make her living as a chilli grower.
Husband says “Err... okay.”

2007
After 2 years of growing and selling chillies, Nadine – questioning her life choice - takes a mini-holiday to Sydney, Australia. She discovers chilli chocolate and decides that from this day forth, she shall make her living coating her home-grown chillies in chocolate.
She tells husband. Husband says “Err... okay.”

2008
After local success with her homemade chilli chocolate, Nadine decides that she needs to go to France to source true bittersweet dark chocolate that isn’t candy-sweet.
She tells husband. Husband says “Err... okay, but as you’re going to France... can I come too?”

2008
Nadine experiments with all sorts of flavours and sensations, using everything from marmite to wasabi, feijoa to kumara. Surprisingly most of them work (she knows this because they keep selling out at local Farmers’ Markets).

To cope with demand, she hires a couple of part-time staff for to help in the kitchen and give her hands a rest (making everything by hand is exhausting).

2009
BullRush Chocolate becomes so popular; she moves the business into dedicated boutique chocolate premises – still in the rural farming town of Ashburton NZ. Every chocolate is still handmade – it’s important that Bullrush retain its boutique feel (and Nadine reminds those patiently waiting that machines are bloody expensive).

Half-way through the year, her almond flavoured chocolates start losing their flavour. A visitor to the shop tells her it’s because Edward – the resident ghost – loves almonds. She begins leaving bowls of almonds out to placate the ghost and bizarrely, the almond flavour returns to her chocolates.

2010
Broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chocolate bar with a 14.58-metre dark chocolate bar easily breaking the previous Italian record of 11.57m. The bar took 24 hours to make, used 180kg of chocolate and was worth around $6,000. Nadine auctioned off giant slabs and donated the funds raised to the Christchurch Earthquake Relief Fund.

Develops edible ink technology that allows her to print any graphic, photo, text or design onto a chocolate and refines the “hollow mould gift” concept, allowing customers to surprise their loved ones with jewellery, messages or other trinkets inside chocolates.

2011
Launches new look Bullrush Chocolates with a new website and new packaging. The products start flying off the shelves (and no, it’s not Edward the Ghost up to his mischief).

ENDS