AUSTRALIA | Mörk Chocolate has embarked on a permanent residency at Chadstone’s Market Pavillion, showcasing Melbourne's finest cuisine.
Melbourne’s own indie chocolate-makers, Mörk Chocolate, has embarked on its most ambitious project yet: a permanent residency at Chadstone’s Market Pavillion.
Launching Thursday 27 March, the new store will be Mörk’s fifth location since opening their original North Melbourne Brew House over a decade ago. At a time when many businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors have struggled, it’s testament to the city’s ongoing appetite for good quality chocolate.
Founded by local couple Josefin Zernell and Kiril Shaginov in 2012, the family-operated business quickly became a fixture in Melbourne’s cafe scene—and introduced specialty hot chocolate as an everyday indulgence for adults and children alike. Drawing inspiration from single-origin coffee roasters, the team put traceability and the ethical sourcing of ingredients at the forefront, resulting in a range of clean-label, minimally processed products that are naturally lower in sugar.
Designed by Anna Drummond from CoLAB Studio, the Chadstone store will be unique to other Mörk locations, delivering an immersive sensory experience that celebrates chocolate in all its forms. Every surface is a deliciously tactile reference to chocolate, from the raw layers of variegated terracotta and liquid-like ceramic glazes to the central hero installation, a ‘chocolate fountain’ formed by a cascade of rich brown rope. These playful design elements work together to trigger memories of childhood treats and secret indulgences, evoking a sense of comfort and warmth.
"I wanted to tap into the memory bank and explore how chocolate made us feel as children. The excitement of opening a chocolate wrapper; the sound and scent, the colours and shapes and flavours. All of those sensory elements that make chocolate so universally loved...that's the sense of nostalgia we're hoping to trigger at our new store", said Zernell.
The store will serve Mörk’s flagship range of specialty hot chocolates from a special custom-built ‘hot chocolate island’, where beverages are steamed and prepared with the same care you’d expect from Melbourne's best coffee roasters. Also available will be new signature drinks, a cocktail menu (including a whiskey-spiked hot chocolate and chocolate negronis by Loro), and a daily selection of buns, cakes and pastries which are baked fresh each day at Mörk’s North Melbourne kitchen.
The retail display will offer small-batch chocolate bars created by Zernell herself (alongside ex-Fat Duck and French Laundry chef Ayelet Har Paz), as well as chocolate spreads, freshly turned vanilla marshmallows, seasonal chocolate morsels and bespoke kitchen accessories such as hand-carved chocolate scoops and ceramics from Sharon Alpren, Mud Australia and Ghostwares.
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