Imagining the best of chocolate... at every step

As a partner to taste artisans since 1922, a pioneer and a leader in the world of chocolate, Valrhona imagines the best of chocolate at every stage of its value chain to create a fair, sustainable cocoa industry and inspire gastronomy that looks, tastes
and does good. 

SELECTING AND CULTIVATING THE FINEST COCOA ON THE PLANET

This mission is carried out by the Valrhona sourcing team, which selects the most unique cocoa varieties and forges long-term relationships with producers. This collaborative approach has allowed Valrhona to constantly enrich its knowledge of cocoa and even become a producer in certain plantations. As a result, it can innovate at every stage of the process, including
cultivation, fermentation and drying.

The future of cocoa lies in the plantation, which is why we make an on-the-ground commitment alongside our cocoa producer partners. We invest to improve local communities’ well-being and to create the cocoa culture of the future. With Valrhona, everyone has a role to play in cocoa’s sustainable development. 

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FROM EXPANDING AROMATIC PALETTES TO A CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION

Valrhona is constantly pushing back the limits of creativity to expand ethical chocolate’s aromatic palette and spark the next revolution. It is with this in mind that the team tries, tests, makes mistakes (sometimes) and starts over (always), so that it can offer something new and creative.

This approach was what brought about Guanaja (the most bitter chocolate in the world when it was launched in 1986),Dulcey blond chocolate (chocolate’s fourth color) and Inspiration, the first ever fruit couverture. Our tasting panel also guarantees this incredible library of flavors’ excellence, impeccable quality and consistent taste every day.

With Valrhona, taste artisans add a new dimension to their creations.

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SHARING EXPERTISE

If we want to inspire creative, responsible gastronomy and drive forward a collective movement bringing together everyone involved in cocoa, chocolate and gastronomy, we have to share our knowledge. That knowledge is about more than skills, however - it is also about an approach and a mindset. And what better place than a school to share what we know?

Created in Tain L’Hermitage 30 years ago by pastry chef Frédéric Bau, L’Ecole Valrhona welcomes hundreds of professionals from all over the world every year. From Tain L’Hermitage to Paris, via New York, Dubai and Tokyo, visitors perfect their skills and give free rein to their creativity in a place where everyone is encouraged to share and discuss chocolate and sweet cuisine. 

Here, sharing also means getting involved in fantastic major projects showcasing passionate people, be they renowned chefs or pastry chefs (including World Pastry Cup and C3 winners) or those of us aiming to become such. This is the aim of the Graine de Pâtissiers program, which was created thanks to the Valrhona Foundation. The program gives young people aged 16 to 25 a second chance at getting into the workforce by opening up opportunities in a sector recruiting new talent, namely pastry-making, chocolate-making and baking.

Thanks to Valrhona, chocolate enthusiasts’ ranks are swelling and the profession can continue to thrive.