Newshub
“A young up-and-coming Wairarapa chocolatier has taken out the top spot at the 2022 New Zealand Chocolate Awards.”
this NZ life
“Take notes of this year’s winners before buying your next chocolate box.”
Otago Daily Times
“Johnty Tatham was named supreme winner at the awards with Lucid Chocolatier 68% Port winning ahead of 150 New Zealand-made chocolates from 31 chocolate makers and chocolatiers.”
FMCG Business
“Lucid Chocolatier 68% Port also won the and Bean to Bar Flavoured category… The judges raved about it saying ‘Outstanding aroma notes and flavour and complexity. Flawless texture with exceptional length. Perfect example of restraint.’”
Hospitality Business
“Johnty’s rise to the top has been supported by two previous NZ Chocolate Awards Supreme Winners. His first chocolate making job was with Nico Bonnaud from Honest Chocolat, the inaugural Supreme Winner in the NZ Chocolate Awards 2017. An encouraging discussion with NZ Chocolate Awards 2020 Supreme Winner, David Herrick from Foundry Chocolate sold 23-year-old Johnty on the lifestyle of a boutique chocolatier.”
The Chocolate Bar NZ
“(The word) ‘Lucid’ has been used since the 16th century as a way to convey clarity and luminosity, both of which I was hoping to convey in the business. For me the word in itself is interesting, unique, and I loved it more when I looked into it, so the choice here was easy.”
Kia Ora Magazine
“While most chocolate companies buy pre-made couverture (chocolate made with extra cocoa butter) from large producers overseas and melt it down, craft-chocolate makers make chocolate from scratch, starting with whole cacao beans. It’s a complex process that involves several steps, including roasting the beans, removing the shells, grinding the cacao nibs, and “conching” the chocolate – a process that helps create that luscious texture that we know and love.”
Cuisine Magazine
“An innovative new chocolate maker has recently emerged in New Zealand’s flourishing craft chocolate industry. Lucid Chocolatier is created by Johnty Tatham in rural Wairarapa, using some of the finest and rarest cacao beans from Peru.”
Radio New Zealand
“Now he's handcrafting chocolate from a cottage on the family farm and his sleekly packaged Lucid Chocolatier products can be found at top-notch Wellington restaurants and artisan chocolate shops.
Johnty and his brother Paddy are back on the Tatham's sheep and beef farm in coastal Wairarapa forging new paths in the food industry.”
