Barry Callebaut opens CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ in South America

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, announces the opening of its first CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in South America, the 15th center worldwide. Located at Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, the CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center is a state-of-the-art teaching and training facility for culinary professionals at all levels interested in strengthening their skills in working with chocolate and learning about new techniques, trends and recipes dedicated to the Brazilian market.

The center’s offerings include a wide range of training courses and demonstrations for customers in all sectors: chocolatiers, chefs, pastry, bakery and other chocolate experts as well as culinary professionals working in hotels, restaurants and the catering business.

The CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center will showcase the knowledge accumulated over more than 150 years by Barry Callebaut’s world-leading Global Gourmet chocolate brands Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®, and well as the company’s local brand Sicao®, and will encourage the exchange of technical expertise in chocolate between professionals.

Bertrand Busquet, French chef and Technical Advisor at the new Brazilian chocolate training center explains: “Our new CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center – the first in South America – will offer a wide range of courses to cover all demands – for beginners up to the experienced chef. Many Brazilian chocolate experts travel to Europe and North America to take courses. Now they can find a high-level place around the corner, here in Brazil.”

Barry Callebaut’s new CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center occupies 473m² at the company’s Brazilian headquarters. The spacious training center features a professional kitchen with individual marble countertops for the chocolate pre-crystallization and all the equipment and utensils one would find in the world’s best schools.

Besides Technical Advisor Bertrand Busquet, international chefs and teachers from abroad will share their knowledge and techniques at the new center in São Paulo. The first in a row of such international guests will be the award-winning chef Joseph Ribé, Technical Advisor at Barry Callebaut’s CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in Gurb, Spain. He will conduct a confectionary and pastry course from July 23 to 25, 2013.

For Bertrand Remy, the General Manager of Barry Callebaut in Brazil, the new CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center is an important element in further strengthening the company’s footprint in Brazil: “We aim to promote a fruitful exchange between our Technical Advisors and Brazilian brand Ambassadors and the local professionals from all food service specialties. We will create new recipes with and for the Brazilians and discover innovative ways of using chocolate,” says Remy. He adds, “Brazil offers a fantastic, unique opportunity, for we have a complete chain here, from the cocoa bean to the chocolate, and the Brazilian people are always eager to embrace something new.”

The new CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in São Paulo will be integrated into the network of Barry Callebaut’s 14 other training centers all around the world. About 26,000 professionals and artisans receive training at these CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ centers every year. For more information about the Barry Callebaut CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ centers please visit: www.chocolate-academy.com.