Chocolate Awards 2007


LONDON: 19/10/06. The winners of the second Chocolate Awards are announced today.

The awards have been set-up and are run by the Academy of Chocolate that promotes greater awareness and understanding of fine chocolate and campaigns for improvements in the quality of chocolate offered to consumers.

The Academy has awarded Gold, Silver & Bronze accolades, based on a points system for appearance, aroma and taste. In some categories no Gold award was conferred. Amedei AoC Award 2005
Michel Roux presenting Amedei Gold Award to Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri

Sara Jayne Stanes chairman of the Academy of Chocolate says of the Awards “We were overwhelmed with the number and quality of entries we’ve received for the awards. This is our second year and the number of entries confirms the faith that the chocolate industry has in the credibility and significance of our Awards. The outstanding quality of the medal winners gives us great confidence for the future. It is so rewarding to see a growing number of highly creative and perceptive chocolate makers stretching the boundaries of talent and taste and, at the same time, paying significant attention to the highest quality, character and provenance of the chocolate – in harmony with the Academy’s ethos to ‘look beyond the label’.

We hope that these annual Awards will begin to help consumers, retailers and restaurateurs to make enlightened choices about the chocolate they buy. However, we did feel that there is plenty of work to done on the milk chocolate categories. In 2007 we look forward to seeing some of those again who were not successful this year as well as many new entries”.

The judging panel included the UK’s foremost chocolate experts, Damian Allsop, pastry chef and chocolatier, Martin Christy of seventypercent.com, Chantal Coady of Rococo, Chloe Doutre-Roussel of Fortnum & Mason’s, Sarah Jane Evans, food writer & broadcaster, Sara Jayne-Stanes, author of Chocolate: A Definitive Guide (Chairman of AoC), and Kate Johns of Nudge pr.

1. Best Chocolatier dark bar (from liquor or couverture):

Silver – Rococo, Grenada Hurricane Emily blend
Silver – L’artisan du Chocolat Madagascar

2. Best bean to bar:

Gold – Amedei, Chuao - (top marks)
Gold – Amedei Porcelana
Gold – Amedei, Toscano Black 70%
Gold – Michel Cluizel, Maralumi
Gold – Valrhona, Araguani

Silver – Malagasy, Mora Mora
Silver – Amedei ‘9’
Silver – Michel Cluizel, Mangaro
Silver – Domori, Puertomar

Bronze – Michel Cluizel, Tamarina
Bronze – Hotel Chocolat, 72% Dark

3. Best flavoured dark bar:

None

4. Best milk chocolate bar:

Bronze – Amedei Milk
Bronze – Green and Black’s Milk

5. Best flavoured milk chocolate bar:

Bronze – L’artisan du Chocolat Tonka bean bar

6. Best filled chocolate:

Gold – William Curley Chuao (top marks)
Gold – William Curley Szechuan Pepper
Gold – La Maison du Chocolat Raspberry
Gold – Melt Passion fruit and mango
Gold – Melt Raspberry Chuao
Gold – Paul Wayne Gregory Passion fruit bonbon

Silver – William Curley Fresh mint
Silver – William Curley Sea salt caramel
Silver – Theo Fig and Fennel
Silver – Melt, Sea salt caramel
Silver – Demarquette Honey
Silver – Paul A Young Sea salt caramel
Silver – Paul Wayne Gregory Space dust bonbon
Silver – Demarquette Rivesaltes

Bronze Demarquette Blanc Manger
Bronze Demarquette Coffee
Bronze – Melt Café Manjari

7. Best plain dark truffle:

Gold – Paul A Young
Gold – William Curley

Silver – Rococo

8. Best flavoured dark truffle:

Silver – Theo Burnt sugar

Bronze – Theo Mint
Bronze – L’artisan du Chocolat Honey

9. Best plain milk truffle:

Silver – L’artisan du Chocolat
Silver – William Curley

10. Best flavoured milk truffle:

Gold – L’artisan du Chocolat Cinnamon

11. Best dark organic chocolate bar:

Silver – Valrhona Cao Grande

12. Best flavoured dark organic bar:

Gold – SHS - Caramelised Hazelnuts
Silver – Rococo Basil and lime

13. Best milk organic chocolate bar:

Bronze – Valrhona Cao Grande Noir
Bronze – Rococo house

14. Best flavoured milk organic chocolate bar:

Silver – Rococo Sea salt

15. Best drinking chocolate:

Gold – Rococo organic
Silver – Rococo Spiced organic
Silver – William Curley
Bronze – Grenada Smilo

Link to 2005 awards