AMANO CHOCOLATE MAKES HISTORY

March 2, 2009 | Food | amano chocolate |

I told you. I told you. I told you. All of the food that I give away on Blake Makes has to pass my taste test, so all of the SOOPZ food is good. Amano Chocolate, however, was and is exceptional. If you tasted it, you know what I’m talking about. Now, it seems the top chocolate authority in the world agrees with us.

The London Academy of Chocolate’s annual awards are world’s most highly respected chocolate awards. Think of them as the Olympics of the chocolate world. The world’s most talented chocolatiers and chocolate makers submit their very best products to the Academy of Chocolate each year for judging.

Chocolate means something different to people in Europe than it does to us Americans. Even their M&M’s taste different. The London Academy of Chocolate is relatively unknown in the United States, but is very well known and respected throughout Europe both among professionals and food connoisseurs. Their annual awards are looked forward to each year with great anticipation by chocolate connoisseurs worldwide with awards announced by the London Times.

The judging in January 2009 took over 3 days with 30 judges including leading food journalists and Michelin starred chefs tasting and scoring the entries. Chocolatiers also join the judging panel but are not permitted to judge any of the categories that they enter. Past awards have been dominated by Amedei (Italy), Valrhona (France), Michel Cluizel (France) and Domori (Italy).

This is the first time that an American company has been honored in such a resounding way by the Academy. In fact, this is the first time the Academy has awarded Gold and Silver awards to an American chocolate company for dark chocolate.

Last year, Amano was the first American chocolate company to receive an award for making dark chocolate from the Academy when they received a Bronze for their Madagascar last year. Clearly, Amano has been improving their quality with each batch that they make.

Each chocolate in Amano’s entire current production line was given an award. This is an almost unheard of accomplishment. It is a testimony to Amano’s great care in selecting the very best cocoa beans and complete passion for making the very best chocolate possible.

Amano’s awards stand as a testament that America can make chocolate comparable to the very best European chocolate factories and that America is experiencing a chocolate revolution spearheaded by Amano.

Here are the results of the judging from London’s Academy of Chocolate: