Wisconsin’s ‘International Rising Star’ Chocolatier to be Honored by the Academy of Chocolate Awards in London Next Month

In a few weeks, Vata Edari, master chocolatier and founder of CocoVaa Chocolatier in Madison, Wisconsin, heads to London to be honored by the Academy of Chocolate Awards at the 2019 awards ceremony in London, UK. CocoVaa once again “cleaned up” with 11 more awards including 3 of only a handful of gold awards handed out internationally for 2019.

Held at the iconic Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair, London – the most storied hotel in the world, and where 5 Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park is set to open its newest restaurant – the Academy spares no expense in its celebration of the world’s best chocolatiers and craft chocolate makers. The Claridge’s which has hosted the Academy of Chocolate Awards since it’s inception, has been historically regarded as the ‘extension of Buckingham Palace’ due to its hosting of royalty dating back to Queen Victoria.

“It’s the greatest honor to be recognized again by the Academy of Chocolate at this grand event,” says Edari, who was named an International Rising Star by The Academy of Chocolate Awards in 2018, making her one of only a small handful of US nationals to ever make the Academy’s Roll of Honour Board. “The best part of the awards ceremony is meeting other people in the industry, many of whom are women of color like me and who are rising quickly in the fine chocolate industry. I really applaud the AoC for holding this competition which is truly merit based giving us a fair chance to showcase our products to the world.”

Alongside her own products, Edari carries single origin craft chocolate bars from fellow Academy Award winners she personally connected with at last year’s ceremony. Among them is a fellow newcomer Elfi Maldonado who owns Qantu based in Quebec. Maldonado directly sources her beans from farmers in her native country of Peru. This year Qantu won 3 gold awards. “I very proudly carry Qantu’s chocolate” says Edari, who carefully curates all products she sells with a focus on quality as well as provenance. “The backstories are important to me.Traceability connects us and gives us a greater respect for producers as well
as what we put in our bodies.”

2019 marks CocoVaa Chocolatier’s third year in business and its second year entering the prestigious Academy of Chocolate Awards. CocoVaa has now won 28 total awards since it first entered in 2018 in the world’s most prestigious chocolate competition.

The Academy of Chocolate Awards based in the United Kingdom is the world’s longest running fine chocolate competition. The competition’s growth since its inception in 2005 highlights the increased strength of the fine chocolate market around the world. In its inaugural year, there were only 12 entries including well known chocolate makers and chocolatiers like Valrhona from France, Amedei from Italy, William Curley and Rococo out of the United Kingdom. In 2018 there were 1200 submissions and this year a record breaking 1500 entries from over 46 countries.

Entries are blind judged by a 100-plus committee include leading chocolatiers from across the industry as well as renowned food critics from the UK and overseas. Judging takes place for over 12 weeks in more than 25 sessions using a complex scoring rubric. The high standards are reflected by the fact that few silvers are awarded and gold awards are rare. This year, out of 9 categories in the filled chocolate competition only 4 categories even saw gold winners. A total of 5 gold awards in total were given. CocoVaa Chocolatier took 2 of those 5. In the categories where CocoVaa placed gold, it was the sole gold winner.

Similarly, in the bar competition, out of 14 categories only 6 categories saw gold winners, this includes CocoVaa Chocolatier whose Eliki bar – a favorite of Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, placed gold. Edari uses a single origin white chocolate made by Venezuelan chocolate maker El Rey and she carefully infuses it with cardamom to make the gold winning bar.

“The awards have a special meaning to my company this year because I entered during a period of intense stress just following the completion of the buildout of my first brick and mortar and a really bumpy first few months,” says Edari. Edari’s entries this year also coincided with Valentine’s Day which would produce a spike in revenues she badly needed. “Shipping all of my entries overseas overnight in the middle of Valentine’s Day production was an adventure, and an expensive one, to say the least. Somehow, in the midst of all of the stress, I was able to produce more award winners. I feel especially proud of my wins this year because of that.”

Edari who will be traveling to Europe with her 11 year old son Solomon, will make a stop in Ghent, Belgium for a brief stay with a fellow chocolatier who owns a shop there, before heading to the ceremony in London to collect her 11 awards for 2019.

CocoVaa Chocolatier is located at 1815 East Washington Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin and is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with plans to expand hours in the fall.

Source: CocoVaa Chocolatier Media Team

info@cocovaa.com