Barry Callebaut extends Chocolate Academy network
Zurich-based Barry Callebaut has added to its global network of Chocolate Academies with two new facilities ” one in Russia and the other in the US.
Callebaut now operates 12 Chocolate Academies across the world, all offering seminars, demonstrations, theoretical courses and practical workshops designed to inspire passion for fine chocolate.
The US Academy is located in Chicago, while the Russian facility is sited at the Barry Callebaut factory in Chekhov near Moscow, and is headed up by renowned Russian pastry chef Edward Lebedev. “The Russian chocolate market is showing a shift in consumer preference towards high quality premium chocolate,” says Lebedev. “Through our courses at the Chocolate Academy, we can help our artisanal customers to create new and exquisite taste experiences for consumers.”
Barry Callebaut’s vice president Eastern Europe, Filip De Reymaeker, says the company is on track to triple its sales in Russia within the next three years. “We see good demand from industrial and gourmet customers,” he says. “Our Chocolate Academy will respond to this trend by helping chefs enhance their chocolate-making skills. Russia’s middle class is expanding rapidly… This is leading to a strong increase in the country’s overall chocolate consumption.”
Speaking at the opening of the US Academy, Barry Callebaut CEO Patrick De Maeseneire said: “In addition to our 40 factories across the globe, this Academy makes Barry Callebaut the only chocolate company with a presence on all continents.”
