Extra

ARATOI VOICES Drinking bowl is fit for a king

We have some fantastically curious objects in the Masterton Museum: Cabinet of Curiosities.

This is the Drinking Bowl of King Kalakawa. But who was he?

King Kalakawa or King Kalākaua of the Hawaiian Kingdom went on a world tour in 1881 in attempt to save the Hawaiian culture and population from extinction by importing labour from abroad.

The 281-day trip gave Kalākaua the distinction of being the first Monarch to circumnavigate the globe. His tour saw him travel through California, Asia, Egypt, Europe and back through the United States.

However, some people were not impressed with the trip, suggesting King Kalākaua just wanted an excuse to see the world. After seeing how lavishly the Monarchy lived abroad, Kalākaua redecorated his palace and spent money excessively.

It is just another curiosity with an intriguing backstory!

• Masterton Museum:

Cabinet of Curiosities

Showing at Aratoi until

July 2023

Extra

CELEBRATING SUCCESS Emerging chocolatier goes outside the mould

HELEN HOLT

A Riversdale chocolate maker has been thrust into the national spotlight after winning a coveted national award.

“This is my 10th interview in 24 hours,” Lucid Chocolatier creator Johnty Tatham said.

His winning creation Lucid Chocolatier 68 per cent Port took the 2022 title against 150 New Zealand-made chocolates from 31 chocolate-makers judged earlier this month.

Tatham’s winning bar was made with nibs from Maranon cacao beans submerged in a 10-yearold Taylor’s Tawny Port. The judges said the chocolate had outstanding aroma notes and flavour and complexity.

The chocolate also won the Bean-to-Bar Flavoured category and his Bean-toBar Lucid Chocolatier 72 per cent Santiago De Sisa won the Bean-to-Bar plain category.

The chocolatier also took out 14 medals, seven gold, four silver and three bronze.

Tatham said as a new company, the awards were a welcome stamp of approval.

“To receive praise from people, I don’t think I’ve been more motivated.

“We’re absolutely stoked. We’re already sold out of our chocolate, so we need to increase production.

“I’ve spent two years living by myself; to get this breakthrough is huge.”

The former Whareama School student got his taste for chocolate making in 2019 while living in Auckland.

“I bought the chocolatemaking kit and started trying a few things out.”

The 25-year-old has had a long interest in culinary arts; he wrote a recipe aged 7, and cooked family meals throughout his youth.

He moved back to his family farm Homewood Farm – south of Riversdale – to start his business in 2020. He’s been working out of the house he grew up in, before the chocolate was put on the market two years ago.

Designing new flavours can be a long process. He said he could spend a lot of time designing a flavour to get the right taste.

Johnty Tatham: “To receive praise from people, I don’t think I’ve been more motivated.” PHOTOS/SUPPLIED

“We’ve sold 20 different bars, but made 70 flavours didn’t make the cut. It takes a lot of time, and flavours are dependent on a lot of factors.

“There’s quite a few months of testing, right strength of infusion. For the port flavour, the nibs have to soak in port for over a month. “ He likened the craft chocolate industry to craft beer.

Just a few years ago, there were only a few big companies, only a few options, but then brewers started taking it into different areas. I saw chocolate was also bending that way, into an emerging business.”

Tatham sought feedback on his business pathway.

“I spoke to chocolate makers about whether there was room for new businesses in this field.

“My godfather is very business savvy, I’ve come to him with all my queries. I’ve been lucky to have a good support network.”

KEEP YOUR PETS SAFE FROM FIREWORKS

It’s fireworks season and our pets can find it really scary. Here’s some tips to make fireworks less frightening for our pets: y Walk your dog during daylight hours. y Keep dogs, cats, and other small pets indoors when you think fireworks are likely to go off. y Make sure your pets are always in a safe, secure environment and can’t run away. y Think about staying home to reassure and comfort your pets. y Make a ‘safe den’ for your pet in a quiet place in your house where they feel safe and in control. Get your pets microchipped and ensure If your pet they have a registration tag on their goes missing, fill collar with your contact details, out our online form and just in case they do run away. upload a photo at: www.mstn.govt.nz/ report-a-lost-dog or call 06 370 6300.