Page 10 - Food&Drink Business magazine June 2022

✷ RISING STAR
A blend of art and science
When Brigid Woolnough went on maternity leave, her love of chocolate spurred the birth of a whole new career as a chocolatier. Kim Berry spoke to Woolnough about her company Kokopod at this year’s Meet the Makers event on the Sunshine Coast.
A student exchange to Germany as a 16-year-old was the start of Brigid Woolnough’s love and appreciation for chocolate. Her host father worked for a global chocolate company and with that, she was hooked, bringing home an entire suitcase laden with chocolate of every type.
In 2013, Woolnough was a primary school teacher taking maternity leave for the arrival of her first child.
Her husband was often travelling for work and with a newborn, Woolnough turned to baking to fill the quiet times.
“I started by making wedding cakes, but in the winter months nobody was getting married, so I started making chocolates and selling them at the markets. I also did a six-week course at a chocolate school in Melbourne, learning the science and skills from some of Australia’s
leading chocolatiers.” Over the next four years,
Woolnough honed her skills, studying here and overseas.
“It reached a point where my husband got back from a trip and said, ‘This is ridiculous.