Record-breaking year for Academy of Chocolate Awards
A record-breaking number of entries have been received for this year’s Academy of Chocolate Awards – featuring producers from India, Slovakia and Vanuatu for the very first time – alongside products from more established chocolate making countries.
In total, more than 1,500 entries representing producers from 46 nations have been received, making it the most successful year in the history of the awards.
Up by almost a third on 2018, this year’s entries continue the trend for craft, origin and sustainability – a key feature of the competition.
Smaller, artisanal producers are well-represented, with the Bean to Bar category seeing the largest rise in entries, closely followed by Tree to Bar submissions.
Alongside India, Slovakia and Vanuatu, the awards have also seen entries from Hong Kong, Serbia, and Thailand for the first time.
Sara Jayne Stanes, founder of the Academy of Chocolate, said: “We are delighted to see the Awards continue to grow year after year. The Academy was founded on the belief that we should recognise and showcase great-tasting chocolate and its producers. Since our inception, we have been encouraged to see a rapidly increasing number of producers developing more and more top quality Chocolate and bon bons.
“We’ve had some really fantastic chocolates submitted this year and judging is going to be an incredibly difficult job for our panel.”
The 100-plus judging committee include leading chocolatiers from across the industry as well as renowned food critics, writers and bloggers from the UK and overseas, such as Jenny Linford, Charles Metcalfe, Nigel Barden, Joanna Simon and Aggie MacKenzie.
Last year, the 25-session judging process took place over a 12 week period. This year more sessions will be needed to cope with the volume of entries as the experts deliberate over products’ appearance, depth of aroma and flavour, length and complexity to determine the gold, silver, and bronze winners in each category. For the first time, promising products that are not yet at award-winning level will receive commendations.
The prestigious Academy of Chocolate Awards aim to celebrate all that chocolate and its producers offer, from bars and filled chocolates to drinking chocolate, spreads and packaging. They also seek to acknowledge rising stars both at home and abroad and recognise innovation.
The winners will be celebrated at a glamorous ceremony in July at London’s Claridge’s Hotel, where the winner of the famous Golden Bean will be announced.
Stanes added: “A great deal of painstaking work goes into organising our Awards and we are very proud of the fact that receiving a bronze, silver or gold from the Academy of Chocolate has made a powerful impact on the industry and has come to mean such a lot to chocolatiers everywhere.”
The Awards are managed by Silvija Davidson and Marie-Pierre Moine with support from Jeanette Marshall and Karen Waller and students from Westminster Kingsway College.