Photo by Richard Hurd
Prestigious London-Based Chocolate Competition Names Wisconsin’s CocoVaa Chocolatier as an International Rising Star
Syovata Edari Collects 17 Academy Awards in London and is Named an International Rising Star by the Prestigious Academy of Chocolate Awards
CocoVaa Chocolatier picked up its 17 academy awards in London, England on Wednesday at the Academy of Chocolate Awards’ annual awards ceremony. The Academy also announced owner and chocolatier Syovata Edari as an International Rising Star, which came as a surprise to Edari who is fairly new to the industry. She is the only US national to hold this title in 2018. This year the Academy had a record-breaking 1,200 entries from 45 countries. The highly competitive juried competition took place over ten weeks in a rigorous process where each chocolate is subjected to blind tasting by multiple panels of international experts in the fine chocolate industry.
According to a coordinator of judges, even placing silver is extremely difficult due to the complex rubric used to assess the hundreds of chocolates submitted from around the world.
Edari entered seventeen items in the hopes of winning at least one or two awards. “I would have been pleased to win even one bronze because I knew I was competing with some of the world’s best” states Edari who won awards for every submission including two gold, eight silver and seven bronze. “Sharing the stage with some of the world’s best makers and designers of fine chocolate, winning so many awards and being named an International Rising Star is the greatest honor and a dream come true.“ Edari’s wins from the London based competition come the same year she was named one of America’s Top Chocolatiers and awarded the highest ranking Grand Master title by the International Chocolate Salon based in the U.S.
Edari uses premium ingredients, makes everything in “micro-batches,” and is conscientious with regard to the sources of her chocolate. “When you operate ethically and with attention to quality, your margins are lower, but as consumer’s become more educated with regard to taste as well as sourcing, smaller artisans like us will be at the forefront of the food revolution and industrial chocolate will ultimately lose its appeal all together.” says Edari, who took her children with her to London to receive their awards. “I wanted my kids to see and to enjoy the benefits of our collective hard work and perseverance.” Edari’s children Emayu, age 18, and Solomon, age 10, have been actively involved in the business operations and inspire many of Edari’s flavor and design concepts. “My kids took the stage with me. They deserve this as much as I do.”
CocoVaa Chocolatier has become known for its unique and whimsical flavor combinations such as coconut Lemongrass which won a silver award and hazelnut macchiato which won a gold award. Edari is scaling up and is building a larger production and retail space at The Marling at 1815 East Washington Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin which should be open fall of 2018 with expanded hours. “We are growing quickly but carefully so we don’t lose quality or lose sight of our mission.”
Source:
CocoVaa Chocolatier media team
info@cocovaa.com