about us

Suzie Wharton, Chocoholic Tours' founder
photo of Suzie Wharton, Chocoholic Tours' founderA chocoholic from birth, Suzie Wharton (photo) skipped the conventional first words of "mama" and "papa" and went straight to "chocolate". This was no ordinary messy infant wasting the precious food of the Aztecs – she was obsessed. She pushed to get the praline centres before the pack, jostled for the chocolate ice cream and hunted for the most spots on a chocolate freckle.

This experience provided a background for a career in the health industry and owning a motel and restaurant. Suzie has run chocolate walking tours in Melbourne since 1995 and is the author of Spoil yourself: a chocoholic guide to Melbourne.

Suzie leads a passionate team who also guide the chocolate walking tours. In 2010, when Chocoholic Tours celebrated its 15th anniversary, the company received the Lord Mayor's Commendation. This award has been given by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne to owners of long-standing small businesses every year since 2005.


Chocoholic Tours in the media
(details in the articles may be out-of-date; please check our disclaimer)

2012

  • Melbourne's The Age – Unveiled, step by step

2010

  • Alive (Magazine) – Marvellous Melbourne – "For chocolate lovers, there are Chocoholic walking tours run by Suzie Wharton. 'The chocolate community in Melbourne is a tight-knit one, so anyone who opens a shop that isn't great won't last long,' she says."

  • Brisbane Times (QLD) – A sweet-tooth's guide to must-eat Melbourne – "Here's the logic a real chocolate addict would employ: if you're busy walking off all those calories on a chocolate tour, the consumption of chocolate won't really count, right? At any rate, there are plenty of tours to choose from."

  • that's melbourne (VIC) – that's melbourne is Melbourne's website for everything to see and do in the city, including what's on (and Chocoholic Tours is listed!), places to visit, shopping, dining and nightlife

  • Times LIVE (South Africa) – Melbourne on the menu – "Suzie Wharton greets her tourist customers with a cheery 'Hi, I'm Suzie and I'm a chocoholic.' It's early in the morning and 20 determined local and international addicts have appeared for Wharton's chocolate tour of Melbourne, which she has conducted for the past 15 years.

    "In her 2-hour, travelling lecture on chocolate, Wharton speaks in the manner of a wine judge – of the 'rassy undertone' of dark chocolate and its 'earthy smell'. Other varieties have a 'prune bouquet'."

2009

  • Melbourne's The Age (VIC) – "Suzie Wharton is a chocolate expert who has created some of Melbourne's most delicious food tours. As the name suggests, these tours explore the best chocolate and sweet-treat experiences in Melbourne's CBD. A delectable way to explore the city on foot."

  • Royal Auto (RACV, VIC) – Tours de force – "'Melbourne has become the chocolate capital of Australia,' says tour operator Suzie Wharton. 'And these days, lots of Melburnians see the city as a place to visit, not just a place of business.' Suzie's tours are a delicious stroll through the city's arcades and laneways, taking in Melbourne's hottest chocolate spots."

  • Four Seasons (Hotels and Resorts) Magazine – Tour the World of Chocolate – "Chocoholic Tours' (...) guides provide inside access to the city's finest chocolate makers and tastings of Australian and Belgian-style chocolates."

  • Wentworth Courier (NSW) – Melbourne makes travelling south of the border the perfect family holiday – "If you want it all, you can discover Melbourne's world of chocolate and desserts all in one tour. The chocolate walking tours are for all ages."

2008

  • Melbourne's City Weekly (Fairfax) – Sweet surrender – Giving in to our chocolate desires

  • * Voyeur (Virgin Blue inflight magazine – Sweet success)
    "While the emphasis of each two-hour tour is largely on the chocolate, Wharton says it's also a great way to get to know Melbourne. "That's what it's all about, really – introducing people to the city and showing them some beautiful sites and chocolate along the way."

  • Postcards (Channel 9)
  • Lexus Magazine
  • JetStar (JetStar inflight magazine)

2007

  • Condé Nast Traveler – Great-Value Vacations – "Chocoholic Tours offers walking tours that focus on cacao-based treats, from hot chocolate to handmade candies, in shopping and architectural districts. It can also organize special gallery antiques, and fashion excursions."
  • Melbourne's The Age (Sweet delights)
  • 9am with David and Kim (Channel Ten)
  • Melbourne's The Age (Winter warmers)
  • Melbourne's The Age (M magazine)
  • Sydney Morning Herald – Melbourne's top 10 winter walks
  • Melbourne's Herald Sun and Today Tonight (Channel 7)
  • Haigh's Happenings Summer/Autumn Edition 2007
    "Suzie Wharton's leisurely 2-hour guided walks around the city of Melbourne are guaranteed to take you to the best shops and cafés to buy and eat chocolate. And you can trust that this woman knows her stuff – Suzie's first word as a baby was not 'mama' or 'dada' but 'chocolate'!"

2006

  • Melbourne Weekender (Channel 7)
  • The Age – How sweet it is
  • The New Zealand Herald – Sweet treats on streets
  • The New Zealand Herald – This little piggy went to market
  • What's good for you? (Channel 9) – Does chocolate really give you pimples?

2005

2004

  • Newsweek International Edition – Travel: Getaways with Ganache
  • telegraph.co.uk – Australia: Under wraps

 

Acknowledgements
Chocoholic Tours would like to thank the support from Louise Macdonald, one of Melbourne's top milliners, who provided photos of some of her creations for this website; photographer Greg Elms, whose beautiful shots are available throughout the web pages (and on the book Spoil yourself: a chocoholic guide to Melbourne); and Web Team, which designed and developed this website, and keep it up-to-date.

Suzie Wharton would also like to thank Kirsten Tibballs of Savour and Patisserie School in Melbourne for the chocolate knowledge she has bestowed upon her over the years.