Robyn Rowe Chocolates in Murrumbateman is now creating delicious treats under new management.
Yasmin Coe (pictured) and her husband, former ACT Liberal Opposition leader Alistair Coe, moved to Murrumbateman from Canberra in the middle of September during the regional NSW lockdown.
Owner of boutique chocolate brand Sweet Pea & Poppy, Yasmin was ready to expand her business.
Originally an accountant, the business grew from Yasmin’s home kitchen five years ago while she was on maternity leave with her youngest daughter.
“We sell our chocolates wholesale throughout Australia,” she said. “It’s pretty well stocked in Canberra and the region and then further afield as well in grocers, gift shops, florists, and the like.
“So really coming here was just the perfect opportunity for our family.”
“The right opportunity at the right time, in terms of Sweet Pea & Poppy and needing a bigger workspace,” she said. “When this opportunity came up it just worked for us.”
Robyn Rowe Chocolates existing six staff stayed on and Yasmin plans to continue the brand along with their chocolate recipes.
“That’s worked out really nicely, it’s an awesome team so it’s been lovely.”
“We had all these people sort of saying, ‘We’re really pleased to see that this place is remaining a chocolate shop’,” Yasmin said.
All the Robyn Rowe chocolates will remain exactly as they were under Robyn’s leadership.
“What we’ve done here is we’ve just kept the same recipes, same chocolates, same team producing them in the same manner,” she said. “Then we’ve added Sweet Pea & Poppy’s production into this kitchen as well.”
Yasmin said it’s a slow process creating the chocolates, but everything’s made fresh in the kitchen weekly.
“We’re pretty efficient in that we’ll have many jobs going at once but we do make a lot so it’s always busy,” she said. “There’s never any idle time in here at all, it’s bustling and busy.”
Having only met Robyn personally during the property sale, Yasmin said she enjoyed getting to know the chocolatier and learning from her.
The mother of two said the move was a tree change for her and her family, but Murrumbateman was a beautiful community to move to.
“Robyn was really great in sharing so much of what she knew about the property,” she said.
“It was a big change for us coming from the city onto land, and there are lots of different ways of doing things.”
Yasmin said her and Alistair were really excited for what it offers their family as well as the business. “The kids are really enjoying the property and we love seeing them explore.”
“In coming here, I really wanted to honour and respect Robyn’s legacy,” she said. “I’ve been really happy with how it’s worked out.”
Yasmin said now that they’ve had the chance to open for a few weekends it’s been great seeing everything come together and seeing that the two brands work side by side.
“We’ve been really grateful for the support of the community,” she said. “They’ve been so welcoming.”
“When I’m here, I just love seeing families and friends enjoying the lawns, enjoying the peaceful Dam, the outlook and having a nice time.”
Open Thursday to Monday from 11am to 4pm Robyn Rowe Chocolates has a variety of delicacies available including chocolate, cakes, and coffee.
By Brianna O’Rourke
