NEWS & MEDIA AT JOSOPHAN'S
Blue MountainsTourism - 2011 Awards for Excellence
Josophan's was most proud in August to be awarded two awards at the Blue Mountains Tourism annual Awards for Excellence - picking up a special 'Judges Award for Excellence in Tourism' and also Jodie was named as a '2012 Ambassador for Tourism' and looks forward to representing the beautiful Blue Mountains next year!
SMH Good Living
12 July 2011 - 3 of a Kind
Cafe Madeleine #- 1.Hot Chocolate
"The sister business to Josophan's chocolate boutique up the road, this sunny high-street cafe is the place to sit and tuck in, not just shop. The chilli hot chocolate ($5.90) is cleverly presented in a glass with its inside coated in broad chocolate bands. It's a sweet, mildly spicy drink made with couverture chocolate flakes and good-quality cocoa powder. Even better, the chocolate used by the cafe is Fairtrade."
Link here to view article
SYDNEY GOOD FOOD AND WINE SHOW
Thankyou to all our Sydney fans who called by a the Good Food and Wine Show to say hello. Dispensing 3000 hot chocolate shots, and with our fine chocolates in the mouths of thousands of people, it was a very successful show indeed! With our Mayan Hot Chocolate selling out first day, we'd love to hear how you're enjoying it ...
DOUBLE TV APPEARANCE!
Josophan's made a television appearance, on:
Guide to the Good Life - Saturday 4 June, with Nicki Buckley and
Mercurio's Menu - Sunday 5 June, with Paul Mercurio, where Jodie made a lime and basil infused ganache with Paul.
Thanks for all the great feedback from those who saw us, or came to our store after seeing us on television!
A Natural Progression
Article November 27 - Sydney Morning Herald
Proud to be the focus of this article highlighting the success of Josophan's
and the beautiful Ikou, also of Leura.
Click here - to view the article
SMH GOOD FOOD SHOPPING GUIDE 2011
"Sydney's chocolate scene just gets better and better ".... "along with Josophan's whose chocolates are so good we couldn't keep them just in the Out of Town section" page 65.
Thankyou to the team of Good Food Guide, who recognised our excellence .... and go on to say ... in the 'out of town section' .... "Chocolatier Jodie Van Der Velden continues to win awards, and rightly so, using the finest ingredients - saffron, Tahitian vanilla beans and rose - for her handcrafted chocolates ... "
FRONT COVER - GOOD LIVING!
September 22, 2009 - Josophan's chocolates proudly graced the cover of Sydney Morning Herald Good Living Insert. Jodie's chocolates take the cake - Good Living - Entertainment - smh.com.au
2009 Dessert Competition Win for Josophan’s
Jodie Van Der Velden of Josophan’s Fine Chocolates and Café Josophan’s in Leura was the overall winner of the Australian 2009 Callebaut Chocolate Dessert Competition.
The dessert competition was the big ticket item of the Hunter Valley Gardens Chocolate Festival, held on the weekend of 2 August. Jodie won two Australian Culinary Federation Gold Medals and a trip to any of the Callebaut Academies around the world, such as France, Belgium and USA, for a training course.
The winning dessert was named Palet d’Or et noisette, a pillow of gold and hazelnut, and was based around a five layered chocolate petit gateaux. The gateaux included locally grown hazelnuts, both roasted and caramelised, and was garnished with a lace work chocolate sphere and gold leaf. The gateaux was served with a zesty passionfruit cream, handmade hazelnut/chocolate ice-cream served on a bed of chocolate soil with caramelised hazelnuts, and a shot of hazelnut liqueur infused with cacao nibs, passionfruit and lime juice.
Competing amongst of a field of 23 professionals, Jodie said “I was absolutely thrilled to win first place, I couldn’t believe it given this was my first dessert competition. When I found out the other competitors included chefs from top Chef Hat awarded restaurants in Sydney, and professionals who have competed in international pastry competitions I really questioned my entry. There were a lot of additional challenges for me to get there, but I did, and I couldn’t be more happy, especially sharing the win with my children who were with me at the competition.”
Given Jodie has visited and trained in France and Belgium, she has decided to attend the brand new Chicago academy, in February 2010 to redeem her prize.
Josophan's announced as National Winner, 2008 Australian Small Business Champion Awards
Josophan’s has been named Champion Confectionary Outlet for NSW & ACT at the Small Business Champion Awards held at Star City, Sydney, on Saturday 13 September 2008. At the National Finals, held in November, Josophan's subsequently went on to win the National Small Business Champion Award for confectionary outlet.
Building on their reputation as the ‘Oscars’ for Australia’s small business sector, the Australian Small Business Champion Awards is the only national programme of its kind to recognise achievement and excellence and honour great performance in small business.
Jodie Van Der Velden, founder of Josophan’s Pty Ltd accepted the silver statuette, certificate and state recognition as a small business champion at the gala event, where she was also a finalist in the Small Business Entrepreneur category.
JOSOPHAN'S COVER IN THE LAND MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2008
Josophan's featured on the cover of the Land Magazine insert, with a focus article inside the mag. To view the article, click here
JOSOPHAN'S CHOCOLATES IN WOMEN'S WEEKLY 'New Entertaining'
Josophan's chocolates have been included in the 'New Entertaining' publication by the Australian Women's Weekly ... to view one of the photos, click here
JOSOPHAN'S FEATURE IN TRAVEL INSERT, SMH 7 September 2008
Josophan's has featured in an article on fine food in the Blue Mountains, the journalist noting "the best chocolate in the mountains, however, is found at the two Josophan's outlets, the original cafe-cum-chocolate shop in Leura and the chocolates-only outlet in Blackheath".
To view the article, click here
2009 SMH Good Food Guide
Josophan's is proud to have again been included in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, under Provedores ... the guide suggesting the Leura Cafe "for a chocolate accented lunch, but the Blackheath shop is where chocolate lovers can really sigh over artisan chocoaltes made in-house".
BEST BREAKS VIDEO FOOTAGE - FEATURING JOSOPHAN'S
Josophan's has been featured in the 'Best Breaks' of NSW footage, on Sydney Morning Herald website, focusing on the Blue Mountains. To view the website click http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=39200
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - June 7-8, 2008
Josophan's has featured in the weekend traveller supplement of the SMH. With a large photograph of the interior of Josophan's Leura, the article 'Fountains in the Mountains' featured our chocolate fountains, and focussing on our High Tea, SMH suggests we have 'redefined high tea for serious chocophiles', and write "walking into the Leura Cafe is enough to give you a chocolate induced high". To read the full article, click here
CANBERRA TIMES - Relax Magazine - June 15, 2008
Josophan's was included in the Canberra times article 'Mountain Highs', where we were described as a "real find", with our lime and basil chocolate exciting the author, whilst she was reluctant at first to try the unusual flavour combination, she writes "I was pleasantly surprised as it smoothly melted in my mouth and sent my taste buds into rapture". Full article is available here
JETSTAR INFLIGHT MAGAZINE - April 2008
Chocolates from Cafe Josophan’s
(photograph from Jetstar mag)
Josophan's has again been included in Jetstar in flight magazine, the article noting
"If chocolate is your vice, then don’t miss Café Josophan’s where owner and chief chocolatier Jodie Van Der Velden uses only the finest quality Belgian and French couverture chocolate. Sliding a satin ribbon off the glossy white box, soft centres are infused with Tahitian vanilla bean, fresh mint leaves and even Mayan chilli chocolate while the hot chocolate is to die for!
702 ABC Sydney Radio
Jodie was invited as a guest on Simon Marnie's morning programme on Easter Sunday, with John Morrison and John from Perfection in Sydney. Easter Sunday was of course a most appropriate time to be chatting about chocolate, and a big thankyou to all those customers who have called into Josophan's and mentioned the interview.
Click on the articles to read about
our Sydney Royal Win in the news
Lithgow Mercury and BM Gazette
CHATTING WITH 2GB!
Jodie was invited on air to chat with Murray Wilton on his popular lifestyle programme 'the good life' on Friday 22 Feb. With a good chunk of air time, Jodie and Murray covered chocolate topics from Josophan's Sydney Royal win, the Mayan civilisation, chilli chocolate and all the way to chocolate dipped oysters! We've had a great response from the airtime, many thanks to those listeners that have made the effort to make the trip from the city to the Mountains and visit our stores and say hello.
JOSOPHAN'S CHAMPION CHOCOLATE WINNER AGAIN!
We're very excited to announce that Josophan's has again won the Champion Chocolate Exhibit, at the Sydney Royal Show.
Results have been announced for the 2008 Sydney Royal Shows, and Josophan's has been awarded 5 Medals for the 5 exhibits entered in the chocolate section of the Cheese & Dairy produce show! Our Gold medal winning 'French Collection' was awarded the overall winner and Champion Chocolate Exhibit.
This year was the largest competition yet, with entries from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland competing against the local New South Wales entries. Our Champion exhibit, the 'French Collection' was inspired by Jodie's visit to the Salon du Chocolat in Paris 2007, and was based on fresh herb and citrus flavoured ganache centres. We were thrilled to receive the award at the official RAS Lunch Ceremony on February 14, accepted by David and Lorraine from Josophan's, as Jodie was training in Melbourne with the Australian Chocolate Masters winner, Paul Kennedy.
Josophan's is also pleased to be affiliated with the Sydney Royal Shows education programme this year, Jodie being asked to facilitate four lecture sessions per day for eight days over the show with Year 9-12 High School students. With a total of 1600 school students looking forward to being involved in chocolate education and of course tasting, we're very excited to be involved!
THE FOODIES GUIDE TO SYDNEY 2008
We're very excited that Josophan's Leura & Blackheath have been included in the Sydney Morning Herald's 'The Foodies Guide to Sydney 2008'. The Guide reads:
JOSOPHAN'S: 'Jodie VanDerVelden's handmade chocolates (no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives), were a gold-medal winner and Champion chocolate exhibit at 2006 Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show. From her original selling point at Cafe Josophan's in Leura, Jodie recently opened another very classy and stylish shop in Blackheath. With a lot more space than the Leura location, Josophan's also offers a range of fine chocolates from around the world to sit alongside their own. There is also a range of chocolate products such as fine cocoa powders, books and Callebaut Belgian couverture bulk chocolate. Also at Cafe Josophan's, 187a The Mall, Leura."
JOSOPHAN'S at the Salon du Chocolat - Paris
Jodie from Josophan's attended the 'Salon du Chocolat - Professional' in Paris in October 2007. Building on the public Salon du Chocolat exhibition, the first Professional 'Salon' open only to industry professionals, was a coming together of professionals working in the chocolate industry from all over the world, to participate in sharing of ideas through networking, demonstrations and display of new products and round table conferences with themes such as world trends in chocolate.
The 'World Chocolate Masters' finals were also held at the 'Salon' over three days, and Jodie was able to be present at the competition between chocolatiers from 20 countries competing for the title. Representing Australia was our national 'Chocolate Masters' winner Paul Kennedy. The theme of the competition was National Myths and Legends, and along with individual chocolates, desserts and cakes, Paul produced an outstanding chocolate showpiece, based on the legend of the crocodile being born without teeth, and the aboriginal carved its teeth from the mango tree. With an impressive finish of 8th place, ahead of both the Belgian and Swiss competitors, Paul's individual enrobed chocolate scored the highest points overall in its section of the competition, a fantastic result for Paul and Australia.
Jodie was also able to visit legendary patisseries and chocolatiers' boutiques in Paris, including Pierre Herme, Patrick Roger (MOF), La Maison du Chocolat, Fauchon and Laduree, as well as investigating and sampling Belgian chocolates such as Galler during a trip to Brugge.
A highlight was a visit to the famous chocolaterie of Denise Acabo, "A L'Etoile d'Or". Not to disappoint in her 'uniform' complete with braided hair, the darling Denise stocks artisan chocolates such as those from Bernachon, Lyon, of which she is the exclusive distributor outside of Lyon.
Jodie also attended Le Cordon Bleu Cooking school in Paris, baking French pastries such as croissants and brioche. Returning from the Paris/Belgium trip motivated and inspired, we look forward to these new influences in Josophan's chocolates and baking in 2008.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - SPECTRUM LIFTOUT - October 2007
Spectrum liftout in the SMH 27-28 October 2007 put the spotlight on Blackheath in the leadup to the Rhododendron festival, highlighting our wonderful bushwalks. In closing, Spectrum noted:
'In recent years Blackheath has become sufficiently fashionable to host several classy cafes and restaurants. If you really want to indulge, try the handmade chocolates at Cafe Josophan's, 12 Govetts Leap Road".
JOSOPHAN'S TRIFECTA - 3 X AWARD CATEGORY FINALIST!
It is with much excitement that Josophan's was selected as State Finalists in the 2007 Small Business Champion Awards, in three categories:
Leura - Cafe of the Year
Blackheath - Specialty Retail Store of the Year
Jodie Van Der Velden - Entrepreneur of the Year
The announcement of finalists across all three categories was wonderful recognition of the Josophan's team effort and dedication .
The Saturday Daily Telegraph - September 15, 2007
Josophan's has been included in the Telegraph's double page spread ...
"Best of" ... chocolate shops in Sydney.
Included in the ten 'best of' chocolate shops in Sydney, Josophan's Leura and Blackheath are highlighted, amongst others such as the Lindt Chocolate Cafe and Max Brenner.
To view our section of the article, click here
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2008
We are proud to annnounce Josophan's has again been included in the SMH Good Food Guide. Under 'Provedores' - the guide notes
"Craftsman-quality chocolates are the highlight here, beautifully laid out at both the Blackheath and original Leura stores. Cocoa-centred cafe menus complete the experience"
SELECTOR - Life-Food-Wine - Magazine (August 2007)
Author and media identity Steve Abbott visited Josophan's in Leura on a recent trip to the Blue Mountains. After meeting with Jodie and 'taste testing' our cakes and hot chocolates, in his article 'Brief Encounter' Steve recommends ... "Please do not leave the Blue Mountains without enjoying a hot chocolate and a slice of handmade Mexican Chocolate cake from Cafe Josophan's. Cafe Josophan's is a small concern but it is chocolate heaven, and don't panic, all meals come with a paramedic".
VOGUE ENTERTAINING AND TRAVEL - June/July 2007
The Blue Mountains was the recent focus of VE&T's article "the high life", where it was noted
"It's also worth pausing at Cafe Josophan's in the mall for a coffee and some handmade chocolates, especially if you get to spot, as we do, the white cockatoo perched on a chair outside, daintily eating a waffle from its claw. At Josophan's Chocolate Salon, the second premises in Blackheath, you can buy more of what ou've tried at the cafe".
WOMAN'S DAY - July 23, 2007
The regular travel page of the Woman's Day featured 'Postcard from the Blue Mountains', where it was noted
"it would be a CRIME not to visit Josophan's Cafe in Leura Mall with its rows of mouth-watering handmade chocolates"
EXPLORE AUSTRALIA
Josophan's has been included in the 2007 Explore Australia
Explore Australia, described as 'the definitive Australian Travel Guide' has included Josophan's in the 'Best of NSW' section, in their publication "Holiday in NSW". Under 'Gourmet Food' , explore Australia recommends:
"For truly special handmade chocolates, head to Cafe Josophan's ... and while you're there, try one of their decadant hot chocolates made with molten chocolate ..." The publication has also included a large image our our Mexican chocolate cake at a table in the cafe.
3 SISTERS CHOCOLATES HIT THE SHELVES!
In partnership with Scenic World, we are proud to announce the arrival of the '3 sisters' chocolate. The project began around twelve months ago, with designing a unique signature chocolate for Scenic World. During the last twelve months various designs were explored, and Scenic World finally settled on a miniature chocolate '3 sisters'. The state of the art moulds were produced in Europe, and after several draft moulds, the final product was completed early 2007. With custom packaging produced, we were able to have the first '3 sisters' on the shelf at Scenic World, most appropriately, on Easter Saturday!
Each package contains three individual '3 sisters' made from fine Callebaut Belgian couverture chocolate, in dark,milk and white chocolate. The chocolates are handcrafted by Josophan's, and make the perfect gift or delicious souvenir, retailing for $9.95 exclusively at Scenic World.
FLYING HIGH WITH JETSTAR!
Jetstar's inflight magazine, April 2007, highlights in 'the post', in a posting titled 'All roads lead to chocolate' that "chocoholics take note! ... NSW abounds with gourmet chocolate makers. Start with the Blue Mountains where you'll find Cafe Josophan's at Leura ...."
(wow, Josophan's thanks you JETSTAR!)
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Sydney Morning Herald included a feature on Josophan's in March 2007. Journalist Tony Kleu spent some time at both our Leura Cafe and our new Blackheath store, chatting about chocolate and sampling our products! To view the article click here
SYDNEY DAILY TELEGRAPH - 2 HOUR EXPLORE TRIPS FROM SYDNEY
The popular 'METRO' supplement in the Telegraph, March 17-18 2007 recommends Josophan's in their '2hour explore' trips from Sydney, with an image of two young ladies enjoying our chocolate treats, the Metro suggests a visit to Leura for hand-made chocolates and to dab a marshmallow into the chocolate fountain or a visit to Blackheath for a variety of delicacies in our new emporium!
EASTER AT THE HYDRO
In partnership with the historic Hydro Majestic Hotel, Josophan's displayed just a sample of our easter delights in the grand foyer, in the form of an 'egg' sculpture. The Hydro Majestic joined in the spirit of Easter this year with Easter lunches in their grand dining room and egg hunts for children!
JOSOPHAN'S WINS MEDALS AT 2007 SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW
We are again proud to announce that we won medals at the Sydney Royal show, winning two Silver medals, for our boxed selection of Fine Chocolates, and also in the single variety of chocolate section.
JOSOPHAN'S OPENS NEW STORE AT BLACKHEATH
It is with much excitement that we open our second store, in beautiful Blackheath also in the Blue Mountains. In busy Govett's Leap Road, we have revamped number 12, and created our chocolate boutique!! Although we have had many requests, Josophan's in Blackheath is not to be a cafe as our Leura location, but is dedicated to chocolate, although we are offering an outstanding 'Italian Style' hot chocolate shot, and running our chocolate fountain with Belgian chocolate to drizzle over skewers of marshmallow. We are also creating our fine chocolates in our newly custom built kitchen, on site at the Blackheath store.
With a lot more space than our Leura location, we have been able to expand our range significantly, and alongside our award winning fine chocolate we handcraft ourselves, we have a wide range of fine chocolate from around the world. Our range includes beautiful French chocolates Valrhona and Michel Cluizel, as well as a wide range of organic chocolates including Green & Black, Dagoba and the Belgian New Tree range with flavours such as Lavender (from Provence no less!) with Lime Blossom oil. We are also stocking Niederegger marzipan, swiss Goldkenn liqueur filled chocolate bars, and a range of beautiful hot chocolates, including the popular Dagoba organic Xocolatyl Hot Chocolate with chillies & cinnamon.
Along with retail chocolate, we are also stocking a range of chocolate products such as fine cocoa powders, books on chocolate and the beautiful Callebaut Belgian couverture bulk chocolate for chocolate making or baking.
To browse our beautiful range, come and visit us at 12 Govett's Leap Road, Blackheath Friday - Saturday - Sunday - Monday 10am-5pm, 02 4787 6333.
COSMO BRIDE - AUTUMN 2007
Josophan's again features in Cosmo Bride, with a beautiful photograph of one of our wedding cakes, at a wedding at the gorgeous Yabba Yabba in Blackheath ... image to come soon!
JOSOPHAN'S ANNOUNCED AS FINALIST IN CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS!
We are proud to announce that Josophan's was announced as a finalist in the Champion of Champions, 2006 NSW Small Business Awards in the 'New Business' category. To be chosen as a finalist is an enormously gratifying achievement, and is well deserved recognition for the dedicated team at Josophan's.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - Good Food Guide 2007
Josophan's has been included in the 2007 SMH Good Food Guide, with a listing under Provedores. We are most excited, and have been described as
"This petite shop on Leura's main drag is the the hot spot for wonderful handmade choccies, plus organic Fair Trade chocolate, Turkish delight, a coffee and sandwich, or a rich and luscious hot chocolate from the Wonka-like fountain".
For more info, click here
TRAVEL & LEISURE MAGAZINE
Travel and Liesure magazine, June 2006, lists Josophan's in their 'Where to Eat' feature on the Blue Mountains, where they suggest
"pop in for handmade choccies, coffee or a milky hot chocolate from the Wonka-like fountain"
ABC DELICIOUS MAGAZINE
Josophan's was featured in a travel article in June 2006 ABC Delicious Magazine, which also included two beautiful photographs of our chocolates and the cafe. To view the feature, click here
COSMOPOLITAN BRIDE - Spring/Summer 2006
Josophan's recently provided a wedding cake for a Cosmo Bride fashion shoot at the beautiful Yabba Yabba guesthouse at Blackheath. For an image of the cake click here
SYDNEY WEEKENDER
After being featured on Channel 7 Sydney Weekender in May 2005, we have been featured in Sydney Weekender Magazine, Winter Edition, as Mike Whitney's pick for romantic experiences in the Blue Mountains! We loved having the Sydney Weekender crew visit Josophan's, and to be 'Mike's pick' is very exciting!! To see the full page feature, click here
COUNTRY STYLE MAGAZINE
Josophan's was featured in Country Style, June 2006, Regional Fare section. To view the article, click here
SYDNEY ROYAL WIN
Josophan's has won a Gold Medal, and were awarded overall Champion Chocolate exhibit in the Chocolate section of the 2006 Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show! The Sydney Royal Fine Food, Wine and Cheese & Dairy Produce Shows are judged in the lead-up to the 2006 Sydney Royal Easter Show, where our champion exhibit, a selection of fine chocolates, was on display.
The Champion chocolate exhibit was a ‘Fine Chocolate Selection’, an assortment of 24 handmade Josophan’s chocolates. The exhibit won a Gold medal in its class, which required a score of over 90 points out of a possible 100, based on the judging criteria. The team comprised 23 judges, including international guest judge Jean Marie Humbert, from France, and awarded the ‘fine chocolate selection’ overall Champion Chocolate Exhibit. Jodie Van Der Velden, chocolatier and owner of Josophan’s accepted the award at the official ceremony on Thursday 16th February 2006, in the members stand at the Sydney Showground, Olympic Park.
This was an incredibly gratifying achievement, reinforcing Josophan's commitment to quality and the use of the finest ingredients in the fresh handmade fine chocolates, particularly after being in operation for less than a year, and a first time entrant.
To view the Sydney Royal press release, click here
For local newspaper press releases relating to the Sydney Royal win, click on the links below:
Blue Mountains Gazette click here
Lithgow Mercury click here
