Chocolate Makers Recognized in International Competition

The International Chocolate Awards recognized the best in the world of chocolate at the first London Salon du Chocolat in October.

The World Final judged the Gold and Silver winners and finalist nominations from more than 800 products entered into the European and Americas semifinals, and the Israeli, Italian and Canadian national competitions. The International Chocolate Awards was set up to recognize the best fine-quality chocolate from around the world. The awards are designed to reflect international tastes and offer a level playing field for international entries.

The judging panel was made up of experts, food journalists and pastry chefs from the host country, overseen by a Grand Jury who travel to each competition. Over 13,500 judging forms were completed in all competitions in 2013, by more than 300 judges worldwide.

The categories – which range from origin bars to filled chocolates to spreads – are designed to reflect the current chocolate industry. Prizes were separated according to category, with just one Gold awarded in each category and a number of Silver awards available. In the bar categories, additional awards were given for Growing Country Chocolate, Directly Traded, Organic and Chocolate Maker. These are given to the highest-scoring eligible product that reaches the Grand Jury round in its category.

The overall Gold winners of the World Finals 2013 are:

Bars – Dark plain/origin bars: Pacari Chocolate (Ecuador) – 70% Piura-Quemazon

Bars – Milk plain/origin bars: Friis-Holm (Denmark) – Dark Milk 55%

Bars – White plain/origin bars: Chocolates El Rey, C.A. (Venezuela) – Icoa

Bars – Flavored dark chocolate: (Filled) Clement Chococult (Germany) – Gefüllte Whiskyschokolade; (Inclusions) Pâtissier es koyama (Japan) – Manganji-Temple Green Pepper & Almond Praline

Bars – Flavored milk chocolate: Pâtissier es koyama (Japan) – Daitokuji-Temple Natto

Bars – Flavored white chocolate: Rococo Chocolates (United Kingdom) – Organic White Chocolate & Cardamom Bar

Filled chocolates – Unflavored dark: (Ganaches and truffles) Paul A Young Fine Chocolates (United Kingdom) – Raw Ecuadorian 85% dark chocolate truffle; (Nut-based pralines) A Giordano (Italy) – Giacometta; (Gianduiotto) Guido Castagna (Italy) – Giandujotti

Filled chocolates – Flavored dark: (Ganaches and truffles) BETA5 (Canada) – Fisherman’s Friend; (Nut-based pralines) Guido Castagna (Italy) – Pralina Cannella e Calendula

Flavored dark – Caramels: Paul A Young Fine Chocolates (United Kingdom) – Sea; Filled chocolates – Milk: Flavored or unflavored (Ganaches and truffles) Pâtissier es koyama (Japan) – Nanko Ume Plum & Almond Praline; (Nut-based pralines and gianduja) FIKA choklad (United States) – Quinoa Hazelnut; (Unflavored cremino) Guido Castagna (Italy) – Pralina Pistacchio Ripieno; (Flavored cremino) L’Artigiano dei f.lli Gardini snc (Italy) – Cremino liquerizia

Milk – Caramels: Centho-Chocolates (Belgium) – Salin

White – Ganaches and truffles: MoRoCo Chocolat (Canada) – SubLime

Mixed dark, milk or white (Ganaches and truffles): Paul A. Young Fine Chocolates (United Kingdom) – Passion Fruit Curd

Spreads: (Dark Chocolate) Guido Castagna (Italy) – Crema di Nocciole 55+; (Milk) Pasticceria Vacchieri Marco-Dolci Intuizioni (Italy) – Crema Gianduia