Castronovo Chocolate: Florida’s American-Craft Chocolate Maker Wins 2015 Academy of Chocolate Awards
Industry: Food & Drink
Have you wished America could make chocolate that challenges Europe on quality? Well, a chocolate maker in small Florida town just did that.
Stuart, Florida USA (PRUnderground) April 16th, 2015
Although San Francisco and Brooklyn are among the favorite cities for foodies, a small seaside town in Florida is home to two new international awards for the fine-flavor chocolate manufactured there. The Academy of Chocolate in London announced this week the worldwide winners of the best bean-to-bar chocolate. Castronovo Chocolate of Stuart, Florida, won a Silver Award for their Rare Cacao Collection – Sierra Nevada Colombia 72% dark chocolate and a Bronze Award for their Rare Cacao Collection – Sierra Nevada Colombia Dark Milk 63% bars.
Castronovo’s founder and chocolate maker, Denise Castronovo, says that craft chocolate manufacturing in her home state has big benefits, “Florida is the gateway to Latin America, which has enabled us to directly source rare and heirloom varieties of cacao beans and produce chocolate with fine flavors that are rarely tasted in the chocolate world. It would be hard for a small American Craft Chocolate maker to find these sources in other state.”
The Academy of Chocolate in London is an important advocate for the emerging international Bean-to-Bar chocolate industry. “Most chocolate, even premium chocolate, is manufactured by a small number of very large firms. As a craft chocolate maker, I am very selective with the quality of the cacao beans and our manufacturing methods”, says Castronovo.
The Academy of Chocolate believes that few producers really understand the difference between fine chocolate and confectionery. Nor do they realize that chocolate is made from a fruit, the cacao bean, with flavors that can be distinctive and subtle.
As an American Craft Chocolate Maker, Castronovo’s mission is to bring the level of the chocolate manufactured in the United States to the same level of respect and high opinion as European chocolate. “The awards we won this week in London, along with our prior award from the International Chocolate Awards last year edges us towards that goal. I think this is a big win for American chocolate”, Castronovo says.
About Castronovo Chocolate
Castronovo is America’s smallest chocolate manufacturer with the world’s biggest awards. Its chocolate is sold in gourmet shops in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Montreal, Vancouver and south Florida. Castronovo Chocolate is nut-free and soy-free. Visit us at 555 Colorado Ave, Stuart, Florida or at www.CastronovoChocolate.com. For wholesale information call (561) 512-7236.
