A RIVERINA family is embarking on an exciting new venture to make organic chocolate in a refinery powered by safflower oil.

For Neil and Coral Druce and son Mitchell, 20, the development is a giant step towards self-sufficiency at their Junee, NSW, licorice and chocolate factory in the town's former flour mill.

AT A GLANCE

• Who: Druce family
• What: licorice, chocolate and whisky
• Why: striving for self sufficiency
• Where: Junee and Corowa, NSW
• Report: LINDSAY HAYES

At this stage the family imports premium organic chocolate from Belgium for its range of chocolate and chocolate coated confectionery.

Spelt for the licorice is grown by Neil's father Alan, an organic farming pioneer, on the family's 1100ha property, Green Grove, at Ardlethan, farmed by the Druces since 1918.

"It means we will give us greater flexibility with our products," Neil said.

"Instead of importing chocolate, we will source cocoa beans from South America and make our own chocolate. We would like to grow cocoa ourselves but it is a rainforest tree."

However, finding a way to meet the challenge has been filed away for future consideration.

Chocolate-making equipment bought overseas is in place and the refinery will soon be ready to go.

Neil and Mitchell have devised their own power supply to cut costs. They are using a diesel-powered generator running on safflower oil from seed grown on the farm.

"We have 27ha planted to safflower," said Neil. "Three hectares produces enough oil to power the refinery and the restaurant kitchen. We'll sell the excess."

Neil said the refinery was relatively simple to set up. "We changed things around a bit, knocked some sheds down to make room for the generator and built a couple of rooms. That was about it."

In full swing, the refinery will operate around the clock in 12-hour shifts producing 500kg of chocolate a day. And there is capacity to increase production if required.

Waiting in the wings is a new customer with a big appetite for chocolate.

"We are talking to a supermarket chain which is interested in buying three tonnes of our chocolate a week to sell under a no-name brand," Neil said.

And while the source of the supermarket chocolate will be anonymous, it will be labelled as organic which Neil regards as a plus.

"As soon as we get the supermarket arrangement sorted out, we'll start making our own chocolate, hopefully before the end of the year," he said. "It's vertical integration and we'll just keep going."

For Mitchell, the fourth-generation Druce involved in the family business, the new enterprise cannot start soon enough. Mitchell mastered the technique of licorice production before moving onto the chocolate-coating operation.

He will run the refinery and handle product packaging. He said he loved working in the family business.

"I can't wait to make our own chocolate."

Mitchell's excitement is shared by the licorice and chocolate factory's 45 employees, who are highly valued and take pride in the factory's eight-year transformation from derelict mill to a tourist attraction.

"We wouldn't be where we are today without the staff," Neil said. Perks come with the job, chocolate tasting among them.

The Druces sell their products on site and at boutique stores in capital cities under the Green Grove Organics label.

Chocolate hardly needs a sales pitch, but Neil offered one anyway.

"There is 250 per cent more flavour in chocolate than in any other food. It's a happy food and dark chocolate is good for you provided it is good chocolate," he said.

Besides chocolate, Neil has whisky on his mind.

He spends much of his week driving back and and forth to Corowa, two hours away, where the family's whisky distillery is under development in the hands of his eldest son, Dean.

The Druces took over the abandoned Corowa flour mill in 2009 and began restorations to include a combined whisky and chocolate factory.

For now, the chocolate comes from the Junee factory and the mill is open for tours.

"This year we'll start whisky distilling to produce Australia's first organic single malt whisky, which takes three years to mature," Neil said. "It's all about value-adding."

The distillery will buy the malting barley from Green Grove and other farms and distil the whisky in traditional copper stills.

In preparation, Neil and Dean have undertaken courses in whisky distilling in Tasmania and will go to Scotland for further training.