Seatonfire's devilish delights

Mother and son team Lynne Seaton-Anderson and Jason O'Conner started their boutique business Seatonfire Chilli Chocolate seven years ago.

"Mum was making chilli products but we decided to share with the world a secret family recipe - the chilli chocolate," Jason says.

"We did a bit of travel and looked at what the world was doing with chilli chocolate bars and we realised nobody was planning on doing what we were."

It's a hands-on business with Lynne the chocolatier, Jason the flavour designer and farm work shared between the two of them.

Jason says chilli grows "really well" on their 12-hectare property at Murphys Creek in the Lockyer Valley.

They are growing Red Devil chillies, the fifth hottest in the world, on 20 per cent of the property. They also grow oranges, limes and rosemary, which are used in some of the chocolate flavours.

All of the produce is hand-picked and grown in a chemical-free environment, using organic methods.

"We try to grow as much as we can, so we know the source of the product and know that it is properly done, fresh and full of flavour," Jason said.

"The chilli that we grow is the fifth hottest in the world but doesn't have any flavour, so that allows all the flavour of the chocolate and flavours we add to come through first.

"The chilli arrives at the back of the palate and lingers for about eight minutes."

The high-quality chocolate sourced for their products is grown in Madagascar, conched in Belgium and hand tempered on-farm.

Liquorice and lime, wild orange, or mild chai chilli chocolate - the flavours are distinctive and designed with 'foodies' in mind.

Jason says he could come up with flavours every day but it was important to be able to effectively make and market the products.

"I do a lot of travelling and that allows me to see what is happening with food fashions around the world. That's where I get my inspiration from," he said.

"Recently I was in Thailand so we made a Thai-flavoured chilli chocolate - Thai Me Up. I come up with all the crazy combinations like liquorice and lime and then give it to mum and off we go."

Seatonfire Chilli Chocolate has gained international recognition, with a Mexican media outlet recently reporting they are the only company to grow the chilli that goes into their own chocolate product.

They have also won a number of awards, including a silver and bronze at the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show competition in 2012, for the slightly wild, mild chai and wild orange and the wild rosemary and sea salt chocolates.

Each bar of chocolate is hand-wrapped in packaging that is stylish but also symbolic.

Lynne's family is descended from Scotland and the Seaton family crest has a fire breathing dragon on it. The fire breathing dragon logo is embossed in gold on the striking black and red packaging.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing though.

The business was started just before the Global Financial Crisis and the 2011 and 2012 floods wreaked havoc on the farm.

Jason said they are proud to have survived the challenges and still be trading today.

"Our wonderful customers and stockists waited for us and understood what had happened," he said.

"To be able to produce an artisan product like ours in Murphys Creek - we're pretty proud of that."

Their products are available online and they also regularly attend events such as the Hampton Food and Arts Festival and the Felton Food Festival.

Next on the agenda, they hope, is to begin targeting the international market with their products.

"Our vision for the company is to get our products out to the rest of the world and stocked in shops in other parts of the world," Jason said.

"We want to share Australian chilli chocolate, and Australian inspired flavours, with the world."