Awarded to a chocolate professional whose passion for fine chocolate has changed the world of chocolate for the better.

About Gary Guittard

When gold was discovered in California in the 1880’s a young Etienne Guittard decided to join the rush to find a fortune. What he discovered was that the real fortune was to be made from the successful miners coming into San Francisco to spend their money on luxury products. He went back to Paris for a while to work in his uncle’s chocolate factory where he learned the trade and raised the money to buy chocolate manufacturing equipment. Returning to San Francisco with his newfound expertise and equipment, Etienne started The Guittard Chocolate Company in 1868.

The company prospered and Guittard expanded again and again, at one time selling not only chocolate but coffee, tea, and spices. Great grandson, Gary Guittard joined the business in 1975 where he was in charge of developing specialty chocolates. For years he traveled abroad with his father, Horace A., soaking up every nuance of the chocolate making business. When he became President and CEO of the Guittard Chocolate Company in 1989, there was little Gary didn’t know about chocolate. Most importantly, he fully understood that chocolate making is a complex and demanding art which requires tireless effort throughout the entire process.

Guittard Chocolate Company is one of only ten chocolate makers in the US,
and one of a handful that works directly with growers. An expert team at Guittard  
travels the world, working closely with growers to assess the development of individual crops long before harvest and to oversee the fermentation and drying process of the cacao beans. Whether working with the bold and traditional, or the unique flavors and characteristics of rare heirloom varieties, Gary devotes his energy to searching for that elusive blend or single origin bean from which to develop a whole new and exciting chocolate experience.

While the Guittard Chocolate Company plant in Burlingame, CA. is state of the art, with machinery running full-time, they still use the Guittard family’s cherished recipes and techniques which have been handed down from generation to generation for over 135 years.

 
Frederick Shilling Presenting Award to Gary Guittard

Awarded to a company that produces fine chocolate from fermented and dried cocoa beans

About Valrhona

The elegant and rich confections made by the world’s preeminent chocolatiers would not be possible without a base of superior chocolate. In 1922, under the vision and leadership of the founder and pastry chef, Albéric Guironnet, Valrhona concentrated from the beginning on finding the finest beans to produce a high-quality chocolate. The quest for premium fine flavor beans lead the company around the globe to far flung cacao plantations in order to locate the best beans. This attention to excellence soon positioned Valrhona’s products as the premier chocolate used by pastry chefs in top hotels and restaurants and by fine chocolatiers throughout France.

In the 1980's with the launch of Guanaja, Valrhona became the first to label chocolates by origin and cocoa percentage. The company recognized that developing the taste and aroma of a Grand Chocolat is not merely related to the cocoa content or to the origin of the beans but is also intimately linked to the quality and assembly of batches of cocoa beans, as well as to the production process. In 1988, Valrhona established the École du Grand Chocolat to provide close collaboration among the best professional chocolate artisans from France and Europe and provides technical instruction for more than 800 trainees each year from all over the world. In 2007, Valrhona inaugurated a new École du Grand Chocolat in Tokyo.

The Valrhona Foundation for Taste, created in 2006, is dedicated to the origins of taste, the endorsement of a sustainable cocoa culture, protection of biodiversity and promotion of the knowledge of the high-quality raw material providers. In addition, the Foundation works to introduce sensorial intelligence to the public and to promote the excellence of artisans’ trades. From it’s beginning as a small family business, Valrhona now employs 250 and produces 3,500 tons of chocolate each year.

 
Frederick Shilling Presenting Award to Jennifer Butler Accepting for Valhrona

Awarded to an individual who uses couverture to create unique fine chocolate products and confectionery

About Fran Bigelow

Fran Bigelow’s love of fine chocolate began in France over thirty years ago where the experience of fine French chocolate and pastry changed the course of her life. Determined to learn more, she attended the California Culinary Academy and apprenticed under a gifted Swiss Pastry chef.

Returning to Seattle with the goal of creating a European style chocolate shop, she opened Fran’s Chocolates in 1982. Initially, the shop featured specialty desserts focused on chocolate and a single chocolate truffle. That truffle became the foundation for her extensive line of artisan chocolates that reveal the deepest flavors of chocolate and create a pure chocolate experience.

A master chocolatier and true artist, Fran’s passion and intense dedication to developing extraordinary chocolates are evident in the exquisite products she creates. Her philosophy is that chocolate is the hero and all the other ingredients are there to support and highlight its taste, allowing the complex characteristics of the finest chocolate to envelop the palate and create a perfectly balanced taste.

The ideal that has been the mainstay of her success has always been to provide the ultimate taste experience by cooking with only the finest ingredients in small batches, using no preservatives or artificial additives.. Fran Bigelow has been credited for inspiring the artisan chocolate renaissance in the United States, and is considered one of the best chocolatiers in the nation for over 25 years.

 
Frederick Shilling Presenting Award to Fran Bigelow

Awarded to an individual who uses couverture to create unique fine chocolate products and confectionery

About Robert Linxe

Robert Linxe started his life-long love of chocolate in Bayonne where he apprenticed before leaving for Switzerland to perfect his skills. He opened his first boutique in Paris in 1955 and sold it to Gaston Lenotre in 1977 in order to establish Maison du Chocolat on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. Devoting a business entirely to chocolate was a bold move and considered very daring and innovative at the time.

For more than 30 years, this master chocolatier perfected the art of chocolate confectionery, following the simple principle that a good chocolate is the product of a highly educated balance between all the ingredients of which it is composed. Robert’s love of chocolate and his superb confections educated countless customers on the subtleties and refinement of flavors found in his fine chocolates. He was dubbed the “Wizard of Ganache” during a period when the first flavored ganaches were created.

Robert’s craftsmanship and consistently fresh creativity built a world wide reputation for excellence.  In 1987 he opened a second shop which he supplied from his original workshop and then in 1990 he opened a shop on Madison Avenue in New York City where his luxurious chocolates became an instant hit. In 1997 La Maison du Chocolat celebrated its 20th anniversary with the creation of the Initiation Coffret, a box offering a selection of the 20 of La Maison du Chocolat’s most popular and representative chocolates.

In 1998 La Maison du Chocolate expanded again and opened its first shop in Tokyo making the company truly international in reach. Today, La Maison du Chocolate’s products are shipped around the world and plans for two shops in Hong Kong are under way. In 2007, Robert chose Gilles Marchal as his successor in the position of Creative Director.

Awarded to an author or publisher whose literature is focused on fine chocolate.

About Alexander Morozoff

Chocolate has flowed through the bloodlines of Alexander Morozoff for three generations. The son of a chocolate maker from Kobe, Japan, the young Alexander used to trot along after his grandfather on his Saturday morning inspections of the chocolate factory. As a child, the alchemy of transforming swirling pools of chocolate into delicate confections was pure magic.

Alexander’s deep understanding of the chocolate business and first-hand experience with the artistic soul of a true chocolatier led to the founding and publication of San Francisco based Cocoaroma Magazine. The critically acclaimed, international publication is dedicated to chocolate connoisseurs the world over.

Each issue of his elegant magazine explores subjects of great interest to its readers. Alexander’s understanding of the extensive technical knowledge and ability that chocolate making demands drives Cocoaroma’s editorial content. The publication covers a wide range of topics including: the origins of the raw materials, interviews with the fascinating people who impact the world of chocolate and the histories of renowned chocolate companies.

Cocoaroma is dedicated to those with the passion and originality to transform chocolate into art and to the connoisseurs who understand and appreciate their creations. As publisher of the magazine, Alexander is in demand as speaker and is often invited to talk about his experiences at venues throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.

 
Frederick Shilling Presenting Award to Alexander Morozoff

Dr Robert Steinberg - Innovation in Fine Chocolate Products

Awarded to a chocolatier or chocolate maker’s product that has taken the fine chocolate into a new direction.

About Dr. Robert Steinberg

Dr. Robert Steinberg was an extraordinary man. He focused his enthusiasm, intelligence and passion on creating chocolate that today stands among the best in the world. As an accomplished cook, his dream of creating a small chocolate manufacturing plant to produce fine quality chocolate began in 1994 with Bernachon Chocolatier in Lyon, France. There, he was able to see how chocolate was made on a small scale, and to taste chocolate that was distinctly different from any mainstream brand he had tasted before. Steinberg then began to think seriously about making chocolate in the United States.

After returning from France, he approached his friend John Scharffenberger with the idea of starting a chocolate plant. John had recently sold his successful winery and his industry experience seemed like the perfect fit for a new venture so in 1996, Steinberg and Scharffenberger founded Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc.

In Robert’s home kitchen, the partners tested nearly 30 varieties of cacao beans and experimented using a coffee grinder, mortar and pestle, an electric mixer and a hair dryer to produce their first chocolate. They purchased their first machine at a chocolate factory in Germany and made their first official batch in a small warehouse in South San Francisco. Business grew and they soon ran out of room, prompting a move in 2001 to Berkeley, California where they produce their chocolate in a renovated 1906 brick and mortar building with thick walls that provide a cooler environment for chocolate production.

Understanding that great chocolate has to start with the beans, Robert was dedicated to sourcing the very best cacao he could find. He spent a great deal of time in the jungle cacao bean plantations learning about the growing and drying processes. He experimented with roasting and painstakingly ground and blended beans to elicit the best flavor possible. His attention to quality and flavor produced some of the most highly regarded chocolate in America.

Dr. Robert Steinberg was well respected, greatly admired and will always be remembered as a pioneer in the world of chocolate.

Awarded to a chocolatier or chocolate maker’s product presentation that has taken the fine chocolate confectionery into a new direction.

About Norman Love

Tasting Norman Love’s chocolates is like biting into an exquisite jewel and finding a luscious surprise inside. Pastry chef turned chocolatier, Norman Love, opened Norman Love Confections in 2001 and caused a sensation. He turned the chocolate world upside down with his hand-painted and airbrushed chocolates. Using bright colors, shine, gold dust, unexpected designs and flavors, his chocolates are a feast for both the eye and palate. In October 2008, Norman launched his newest line of confections, BLACK, five signature ultra-premium dark couvertures featuring rich single-origin chocolates.

Norman’s lifelong love of food began as child where he would spend hours working in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. His nascent artistic sensibilities were funneled into the creativity inherent in fine food. Norman honed his talents with two years of work and study in a private pastry shop in southern France, followed by jobs as executive pastry chef for The Ritz-Carlton hotels in Naples, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, and the famed Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

He was just 30 years old when The Ritz named him to oversee its worldwide corps of pastry chefs. During his 13 years as corporate executive pastry chef for The Ritz-Carlton Corporation, his talent and avant-garde artistry influenced signature desserts still served at Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide. While working with the company, Norman received international acclaim for his stellar accomplishments.

He has been featured in many top national and international publications and Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines named him one of the country's top 10 pastry chefs in 1996 and 1997. In 1999, he led the U.S. team to a bronze medal in the prestigious biennial Coup du Monde de la Patisserie (World Cup of Pastry) competition in Lyons, France, which featured the top pastry chefs from 18 nations.

In his travels as executive pastry chef, he encountered many new and unusual ingredients from countries around the world. When he opened his chocolate business, he incorporated those ingredients into his creations and introduced his customers to a whole new chocolate experience. After spending twenty-five years in the pastry business, Norman is dedicated to producing the finest chocolates, using the freshest ingredients and adding in that unexpected “wow!” factor.

 
Frederick Shilling Presenting Award to Norman Love