The ultimate chocolate guide to Melbourne

Think chocolate and you might think Switzerland, or Belgium, or even Tasmania. You're probably not going to think Fitzroy. But here, 90 years ago, is where the almighty Cherry Ripe was born. Yes, that heady combination of dark chocolate with cherries and coconut - that constant in "care packages" posted to Aussies living abroad - started its life in Melbourne's first suburb. Likewise, a few years later, did the Freddo Frog.

But chocolate swirling down the laneways of Fitzroy is history; Cadbury bought the company, which was founded by 19-year-old Mac Robertson in 1880, from his heirs in 1967 and moved the manufacturing to Ringwood. Of course, Cadbury has kept on making Freddo Frogs and the Cherry Ripe, and its Ringwood factory has an innovation centre where its new product range Marvellous Creations was developed.

Cadbury's Melbourne factory is still huge in the scheme of things; each year 200 million eggs are made there and distributed around the country. Yes, along with Mars making the brown stuff in Ballarat, Victoria can still claim to be Australia's compound chocolate central.

There's plenty of chocolate history left in Fitzroy (you can live in a MacRobertson's warehouse conversion), and new places that make and serve up couverture chocolate (that is, the good stuff with extra cocoa butter that gives it a high gloss) are always emerging. You just need to know where to look.

The chocolate shops

Go nuts for couverture chocolate at these sweet spots.

Cacao

Cacao (Driver Lane, CBD; 52 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda; Doncaster and Highpoint shopping centres) might have a standard name, but its chocolates tell a completely different story with rock star bunnies ($16) that look like they've been Jackson Pollocked; boldly yellow Mr Eggs ($8 for one) and Emu eggs ($16) forming part of its 2015 Easter range. There's also the "smarty-loaded" egg aka Smarty Pants ($22). Co-owners and chocolatiers Laurent Meric and Tim Clark certainly don't lack creativity. cacao.com.au

Ganache

This boutique chocolate shop opened in South Yarra seven years ago and now has two stores: the original at 250 Toorak Road, South Yarra, and another at 245 Collins Street, Melbourne. Its Easter range has a fairly standard collection of bunnies and a couple of standouts like the scooter bunny ($25) and a startled-looking chook ($29). There's filled eggs (from $14) and a bit of marbled chocolate too. ganache.com.au

Koko Black

Plenty of Koko Black's chocolates are made on site in its Royal Arcade shop (shop 4); you could stand in the arcade looking in at the process for ages. There are Koko Blacks at the Queen Vic Market, Highpoint, Doncaster and Chadstone shopping centres, Carlton (167 Lygon Street) and at 52 Collins Street, Melbourne, but it's this little oasis in the busy city that is worth a visit. kokoblack.com

Monsieur Truffe

Good luck pronouncing this place without sounding like a tosser. Enter this artisan chocolate factory at 351 Lygon Street, Brunswick East (look for the red door) for a glimpse of artisan chocolate-making in its huge, on-trend, space. On site, East Elevation Cafe serves up coffee in bowls as well as outrageously good sweets including the chocolate fondue (choose from dark or milk chocolate to go with your pieces of banana, strawberry, brioche and brownie) and salted caramel sundae (also with aforementioned brownie). But back to Monsieur Truffe's chocolate. As well as a range of single-origin bars, get a single-origin chocolate Rabbit in a Car ($16) or a Small Rooster ($11) which comes in startling (edible) metallic. They taste even better after you've watched their cousins being made. monsieurtruffechocolate.com; 9380 4915

Mámor

Kangaroo salami chocolate? Green tea wasabi in dark chocolate? Luckily Dr Hanna Frederick has a professional background in food science; her chocolates are marvels. It's a luxurious baroque set-up offering chocolate-tasting high teas, chocolate-themed dinners and hens' parties at 153 Johnston Street, Collingwood. Her husband Dr Howard runs the Melbourne Chocolate History Tours (see Tours below) which conclude here for a chocolate tasting. mamorchocolates.com; 9419 3869

Chokolait

Chilli chocolate shot anyone? What if you can decide your own level of chilliness, from one to 10? Or you could take the easy way out and just get yourself a rather rare chocolate frog made from Australian chocolate (most of Melbourne's couverture chocolate is sourced from Belgium). You choose at the two Chokolait venues (Hub Arcade, off Royal Arcade and Level 3, The Emporium on Lonsdale in the CBD). chokolait.com.au; 9662 4235

The outlets

Popular with the shopping outlet tour set, there's nothing quite like a drive into middle and outer suburbia to get a cheap(er) chocolate fix.

Pink Lady Chocolate Factory outlet

Pink Lady began making chocolates for theatregoers in 1938. Despite feeling like a recent phenomenon, Bilbies – the anti-Easter bunny – began rolling off the Pink Lady conveyor belt back in the 1930s. These days Pink Lady is a gold sponsor of the Save the Bilby fund and donates one cent from each bilby sold. This small outlet is well known for its milk and dark chocolate liquorice bullets ($7 for 500g). It's a great place to stock up on party-bag sweets, and when we were there broken musk sticks were $1 a bag.

13 Hume Street, Huntingdale, 9535 9912, plchocolates.com.au; open 9.30-3.30pm.

Lindt Factory Outlet

This find is located in a newer industrial site. Look for the giant Lindt bunny by the road. Good buys include three unlabelled 100g blocks of 70 per cent Lindt dark chocolate for $5, as well as quirky-looking 225g Easter bunnies which have been made from Lindt chocolate but minus the Lindt branding ($8).

Unit 6, 238 Governor Rd, Braeside, 9580 5244; premiumchocolateco.com.au; open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (also open Sunday, March 29, 10am-4pm, and Saturday, 4 April 4, 9am-5pm)

The Richmond Chocolate Factory Outlet

Despite what's been in the news lately (the Piedemonte brothers – of supermarket fame - sold the 100-year-old company Ernest Hillier, makers of Hillier's and Newman's chocolates, to British company Re:Capital in 2014, and it collapsed early 2015), there are still chocolates coming off the conveyor belt at Hillier's Coburg factory. The exuberant Ana Thomas has worked for the company for 25 years and is a shining (literally) example of the benefits of daily chocolate eating. She says the most popular offering at the outlet and cafe where she works is the dark ginger (200g for $6.80) and the 1.5kg of factory seconds for $28.

133 Church Street, Richmond, 9428 5068, richmondchoccafe.com.au; open Mon-Sat 9pm-5pm.

Heritage Factory Outlet

This is one of the biggies come Easter time: it's a bunny paradise. Grab 14 yummy 17g Easter eggs for $5, or its Easter bunnies, which are a measly $1.48. It may have a windswept feeling about it, but it's certainly well-stocked.

Shop One, 883 Wellington Road, Rowville, 9751 5890, chocs.com.au; open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-4pm and Sun 10am-3pm.

Tours

If you've stumbled across a congregation of badge-wearing ("I'm a Chocoholic") people in sugar comas blocking up a Melbourne laneway, and eating chocolate as they do, you know what I'm talking about. When it comes to choosing a tour, it depends on how far you want to walk and how much chocolate you think you can consume.

Chocoholic Tours

Suzie Wharton began these tours nearly two decades ago, and her enthusiastic chocolate-loving niece Jessica Gilchrist took over the business this year. You won't lack a sugar high on this tour – you'll be watching it being made, hearing from those who make it, drinking it (chocolate shots, no less), smelling it and, yes, eating samples of it at five of Melbourne's best chocolate shops.

2.5 hours, $49, chocoholictours.com.au

Melbourne Chocolate Tour on Viator

This TripAdvisor booking company offers chocolate tours of Melbourne with six stops. The tours begin with ice-cream at Spring Street Grocer and include four of the five chocolate shops that the original Chocoholic tour visits. It's a 2.4 kilometre walk, but don't let that fool you into thinking that it'll be calorie neutral.

2.5 hours, $60, viator.com

Foodi

Foodi has a bunch of food-related tours running in Melbourne including a chocolate walking tour that guides you to eight of Melbourne's chocolate spots each Saturday.

2.5 hours, $39, foodi.com.au/chocolate-walking-tour-melbourne

Melbourne Chocolate History Tours

This is the tour that every north-sider must do. Think you know Fitzroy? Well, did you know this: all the MacRobertson's chocolate buildings that covered blocks and blocks of Fitzroy were painted white. There's one left, and tour guide Dr Howard Frederick will tell you all about it. He's an awesome guide who'll try to sneak you into the converted factories while regaling you with amazing stories of Melbourne's chocolate past. In one particular block a coconut tree (well, a palm tree of sorts) and cherry trees grow in its courtyard as a reminder of the almighty Cherry Ripe. Tours run on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings

2 hours including 30 minutes of chocolate-tasting at Mámor, $35, mamorchocolates.com

Out of town chocolate spots

Chocolate-making is not limited to Melbourne; here are a few of the many places that dot Victoria.

Mornington Peninsula Chocolates

This Flinders chocolate shop and cafe is celebrating a decade of chocolate-making. Head here for a colourful selection of airbrushed eggs (they look like they've been graffitied) with "crisp pearls" inside them. The eggs start at $8.

45 Cook Street, Flinders, 5989 0040, mpchocolates.com.au; open Thu-Mon 10am-5pm (closed Good Friday).

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Icecreamery

Head here for free Easter egg hunts over the Easter weekend (at 10am, noon, 2pm and 4pm, Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The catch? The hunts are for kids under 12 only. Boo. There's a cafe and shop for the rest of us.

35 Old Healesville Road, Yarra Glen 9730 2777, yvci.com.au; open 9am-5pm daily.

Bright Chocolate Bean and Bar

Has an Easter range of milk and dark chocolate eggs, as well as pod eggs (a dark chocolate egg moulded into a cacoa pod shape ($10.95).

8/3 Riverside Avenue, Bright, 5750 1235, brightchocolate.com.au; open 10am-5pm daily.

Eating and sleeping

Hotels are particularly good at putting guests into chocolate comas before they go to sleep. Try these Melbourne favourites.

The Adelphi

This dessert-themed hotel literally smells like lollies when you walk in, so you're guaranteed a special Easter here. On Monday, March 30, an Easter pop-up pastry shop will appear in The Adelphi's front window. Choose from three specially made Easter designs to eat in the sweet-smelling on-site Om Nom restaurant or take them home. This could indeed be Melbourne's dessert central. Om Nom opens at 7am for breakfast and desserts are available until midnight, Monday-Saturday.

187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 8080 8888, adelphi.com.au

Mercure Melbourne Treasury Gardens

Throughout Easter, Mercure Melbourne's Lime Bar will serve chocolate-themed cocktails, and Lime Restaurant has added a yummy chocolate dessert to its menu. On Easter Sunday, guests will be able to join in an Easter-egg hunt in the Treasury Gardens across the road. Forget to buy Easter eggs? A night here might be the answer. There will be egg painting for kiddie guests on Easter Saturday too.

13 Spring Street, Melbourne, 9205 9999, mercuremelbourne.com.au

The Langham

The Langham's team of in-house bakers will start at 2am to bake hot cross buns studded with Belgian chocolate chips. The hotel's buffet restaurant, the Melba, will also feature Callebaut Gianduja (hazelnut and chocolate) souffles, as well as Japanese yuzu ganache tarts. The folk at the Langham estimate that 2500 chocolate creme brulees will be served during Easter. They're also introducing a new Liquid Chocolate Buffet, featuring hot chocolates made with Valrhona, Callebaut, Lindt or Cocoa Barry chocolate. You get to choose the addition of hazelnut, almond or Himalayan pink salt. If that's not enough, the Melba's signature chocolate fountain will feature a river of silky pink chocolate.

1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank, Melbourne, 8696 8888, langhamhotels.com