Final call for Academy of Chocolate 2020 award entries
Entrants for this year’s Academy of Chocolate’s twelfth Annual Awards have just two weeks remaining to bid for honours within the industry event.
As the UK organisation revealed, applications close on 31st January 2020, with Confectionery Production returning as part of the judging at Westminster Kingsway College, London, between February and May, before winners being confirmed later this summer with a special evening celebration and presentation evening to follow.
According to the Academy of Chocolate (pictured, presenting an award to Denise Castronovo, of Castronovo Chocolates last year), there has been a welcome increase in Tree to Bar submissions, resulting in an expansion of the category to separate Dark, Milk and White bars. In addition, it has also included ‘seasoned’ sub-categories for both Tree to Bar and Bean to Bar submissions that are not ‘flavoured’ as such but do make use of vanilla, salt, unrefined and non-cane sugars or nibs. Flavoured Tree to Bar and Bean to Bar entries also have dedicated sub-categories, and we continue to welcome Flavoured bars made with couverture in separate, dedicated categories.
All entries are submitted as sold for retail (or in a preferred format); there is no need to re-melt or repackage. All chocolate will be judged unwrapped and ‘blind’ with just the allocated codes attached; description and ingredients will be available to Judges. As before, certain information fields will be compulsory; in addition, to facilitate information gathering on the use of fine quality cacao, there are optional fields in which entrants can tell us more about their cacao sourcing. Chocolate makers and chocolatiers can enter without filling in the optional fields, but the academy would welcome such detail for internal use only.
Furthermore, the recently established Brand Experience Award replaces separate packaging entries. It celebrates the pleasure of enjoying chocolate as a complete moment by moment experience, from attractive functional packaging to enjoyable mouthfeel. Special attention will be paid to a creative concern with sustainability, to the way chocolate information is presented, and to the overall packaging quality and suitability. Entrants are invited to submit a representative range of their products, and ample space is given on the entry form to describe your approach to packaging and branding. To place an award entry, visit www.academyofchocolate.org.uk
