Media Release

3 November 2017: Hon Bob Katter MP, KAP Federal Member for Kennedy and Shane Knuth, KAP State Member for Dalrymple and KAP candidate for Hill, have today congratulated Chris and Lynn Jahnke of Charley’s Chocolate Factory at Mission Beach on their single origin Mt Edna chocolate winning the 2017 International Cocoa Award in Paris overnight.

“This is wonderful, fantastic news. To see a small local business start from scratch, build themselves up and to now take out this international award – all in 4 years – it is amazing” exclaimed Mr Knuth.

Chocolates from around the world were shortlisted down to 50 entries in August and overnight the 18 International Cocoa Award winners were announced at the Salon du Chocolate, Paris. The Mt Edna chocolate is a single origin chocolate bar, with all coco beans coming off the Jahnke’s farm at Mission Beach.

“This award gives us exposure not only in Australia, but on the world stage,” said owner Lynn Jahnke.

Lynn and her husband Chris moved to Mission Beach in 2013, swapping a former career of 2 decades in the ladies hand bag business. They planted the first cocoa bean seeds 5 years ago.

“This weekend is the 5th anniversary of when we planted the cocoa bean seeds which has now won this award. In 2014 we made the first 50 bars of our Mt Edna chocolate, now we make 18,000 bars a year,” Lynn Jahnke said.

Chris and Lynn cannot keep up with demand and are looking to expand their operation. They have an application currently with the State Government to create the ‘Australian Chocolate Centre’ at Mission Beach. If successful, the Australian Chocolate Centre will employ 65 people over 5 years.

Currently Charley’s Chocolate Factory take on average 120 people a week on a tour of the property, showing how chocolate is made. This has diversified the tourism offering in the Mission Beach area.

“This shows that our boutique industries, such as the Mt Uncle Distillery at Walkamin, the proposed Bingil Bay Distillery or Golden Drop mango wine in Mareeba – to name but a few; are flaring. We hope that they are going to flare into a conflagration of economic progress,” Mr Katter said.

“We are just so proud of Chris and Lynn and Mission Beach,” said Mr Katter.

“It is a wonderful showing of what people can achieve in our small North Qld coastal communities,” Mr Knuth said.

For more information on Charley’s Chocolate Factory visit: http://www.charleys.com.au/
For more information on the International Cocoa Award visit: http://www.cocoaofexcellence.org/
*note Charley’s Chocolate Factory trades as Australian Chocolate Pty Ltd.
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