Who we are

Kakawa Chocolates is proud to have been making fine fresh handmade chocolates in Sydney since October 2008. We believe that we were one of the first, if not the first Sydney artisan chocolatier, to pioneer making truly fresh chocolates, using locally sourced seasonal ingredients, including local fresh homegrown fruit, blended with fine origin chocolate and no additives or preservatives. 

My name is Jinsun Kim and I am Kakawa’s head chocolatier and owner. My fascination with sweets brought me to Australia in 2003 from South Korea to do a course at Le Cordon Bleu, where I fell in love with chocolate making. I find chocolate intriguing to work with, particularly single-origin couverture chocolate which I have found makes the best artisan chocolates.

In 2006 I moved to London to gain more experience working with handmade chocolates. Over the next two years I was lucky enough to be able to gain huge experience at several chocolate shops and learn from different master chocolatiers, including working with head chocolatier, Keith Herdman at the famous Melt Chocolates, at Notting Hill. 

In 2008 I returned to Australia ready to start making my own specialty chocolates. I began by making homemade chocolates at home and selling them at the local market in Manly. I quickly realised that the demand for my chocolates meant that I needed better, tailor-made and bigger facilities and began researching for premises that would allow me to make the quality chocolates I dreamed of making.

After researching around Sydney, in 2009, I set up shop at the Gaffa Gallery behind the QVB in the Sydney CBD, for 3 wonderful years. I also set up another shop in Kensington Street at Central Park for about 2 years. As wonderful as these premises were, they still did not allow for the combination of chocolate making and selling that I was really looking for. I wanted a space where I could both talk to my chocolate loving customers and share my creations but also make the chocolates where customers could see it all happening.

I have settled in the William Street Chocolate Shop where my team and I now make a a wide range of creative artisan chocolates, confectionary and ice cream sandwiches, and where customers can both purchase chocolates and watch chocolates being made at the back of the shop. Kakawa now sells our heavenly chocolates and other treats online as well.