20 GOURMET TRAVELLERShifting gears
How a car-repair guy in Sweden ended up
opening a chocolate factory in Queensland.News
PRODUCERSWHO: In 2004, Trevor Smith moved to
Sweden and fell in love with European
chocolate. So the Aussie expat ditched
his car-repair job and, after many
bean-to-bar tests in his basement, he
launched Metiisto, his own chocolate
brand, in 2011. He has since relocated
the business to the Queensland city
of Toowoomba, near his parents, but
his repair skills still come in handy.
He’s working on his fifth version
of a roaster and has built more than
10 winnowers for cleaning the beans.
HOW: Smith runs his artisan chocolate
factory with his Polish wife, Magdalena,
a dentist. “Any time a machine does
the work for you,” he says, “it removes
a little bit of magic.” His hand-crafted
blocks are named after farmers or
sites in the Solomon Islands, where
he sources his beans.
WHY: Smith initially decided not
to reopen Metiisto in Australia, but
he took the appearance of several
chocolate-making machines on
Gumtree as a sign. Each block is
embossed with a sketch of one of the
contraptions. He sells his chocolate
from his factory on Saturdays, and
hopes to launch tasting events soon.
19 Croft Cres, Harristown, Qld,
metiistochocolate.comThe expeditionary
expansion of French
luxury cruise line Ponant
gathers pace with the
launch this month of its
third Explorer-class ship,
Le Bougainville, and
another in August, Le
Dumont-d’Urville. The
nine-ship fleet embarks
on nearly 40 new
itineraries this year.
au.ponant.comWell travelled
Conventional notions of wellness are
broadened in a collection of small-
group journeys designed by luxury
travel operator Abercrombie & Kent.
“They’re about a balance of cultural
appreciation and an unhurried pace
that allows guests full immersion in
some of our favourite destinations,”
says A&K’s Sujata Raman. Commune
with shamans and ayurvedic doctors,
hike in cloud forests and visit
sustainable community projects
on journeys in India, Southeast
Asia, Kenya and Peru. Departures
between October and December.
abercrombiekent.com.auTaj Mahal.