Ten years after putting New Zealand’s tastiest laneway on the map, Wellington Chocolate Factory and Fix & Fogg are today releasing a limited-edition bar celebrating their shared history and love for all things chocolate and peanut butter.
The two iconic Wellington food producers first met a decade ago when looking for space to grow their businesses. Gabe Davidson, WCF co-founder, says he fell in love with the old Hannah’s Shoe Factory in Eva Street while Roman & Andrea Jewell, Fix & Fogg’s founders, were growing their business beyond weekend farmers’ markets.
“We’d become friends with Roman and Andrea, who were looking for somewhere to launch Fix & Fogg,” says Gabe.
“We explored the idea of working together from the same premises before the opportunity arose for them to lease the groovy little subterranean site opposite us. They had a brilliant vision to transform this space into their first factory, with the (now nostalgic) window to serve their products and the best peanut butter toast ever,” he says.
Roman Jewell says a lot was happening in Wellington’s food and drink space at the time, built on the back of some great coffee companies like Coffee Supreme and Havana Coffee and a thriving hospitality scene.
“In 2014, our little business turned up in the Eva Street laneway a short while after Six Barrel Soda, Goldings Free Dive, the Wellington Chocolate Factory, and the OG of the area - Pizza Pomodoro. We'd come from local farmer's markets and were all small businesses grouping together to try and grow our brands.
“A lot has happened since then, but we've been lucky to have had a great and formative chapter at Eva Street. I'm pleased to see it continue to evolve with other great local businesses staking their spot on the laneway: Mr Go's and Shelly Bay Bakery, to name a few,” he says.
The Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Bar is the second collaboration between WCF and Fix & Fogg. The first, a peanut butter and jelly single bar, was released ‘way back in the day.’ The new bar features Vanuatu cocoa slathered in Fix & Fogg peanuts inspired by its Super Crunchy Peanut Butter.
Roman says the best part about making the bar was getting the taste just right.
“This bar went through a bunch of different variations and lots of taste testing in both camps, but there are no complaints there! We're so happy with the final product. It's delivered on all fronts - a hint of salt to balance the sweetness of the WCF dark chocolate topped with a generous layer of our signature Super Crunchy golden roasted peanuts,” he says.
To celebrate the Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Bar and Eva Street, WCF and Fix & Fogg are hosting breakfast at WCF from 8 am Thursday, 2 May 2024. Toasted sourdough from Shelly Bay Bakery, covered in Fix & Fogg’s Super Crunchy Peanut Butter and melted WCF chocolate, will be free until stocks last. Filter coffee from Coffee Supreme will also be available.
