PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The James Beard Foundation has chosen Green & Black's(R) as the exclusive James Beard Foundation House Purveyor of chocolate. Located in New York City, the James Beard Foundation is America's preeminent culinary organization dedicated to furthering the practice and appreciation of the culinary arts in America. Green & Black's is honored to partner with an organization that represents the best in the food world and to offer top quality chocolate to chefs and diners from around the world.

Almost every day, chefs from America's finest restaurants and hotels perform in the kitchen of James Beard's legendary Greenwich Village home, presenting their culinary art to the public. As a House Purveyor, Green & Black's will supply its intensely rich organic chocolate for these events hosted by the Foundation throughout the year. Participating chefs will have the opportunity to enhance their menus by incorporating Green & Black's chocolate into their recipes or by serving it as a delicious standalone treat.

"We are pleased to offer Green & Black's chocolate to culinary artists at the James Beard House," said James Beard Foundation President Susan Ungaro. "The James Beard Foundation represents the very best in the culinary world. Our house purveyors represent some of the finest products and producers and we are happy to welcome Green & Black's among them."

Since its founding in 1991, Green & Black's has been a pioneer of organic chocolate; all Green & Black's products meet the National Organic Program (NOP) standards set by the USDA. In addition to their organic standards, Green & Black's has also developed sustainable relationships working directly with the farmers to secure the finest Trinitario cocoa beans. Every step from bean to bar is equally important -- whether it's using the finest organically grown Trinitario cocoa beans or taking that extra time and care to bring out the intense and indulgent flavor that has become Green & Black's trademark.

Today, Green & Black's produces 12 delicious organic chocolate bar varieties including: Dark 85%, Dark 70%, Milk, White, Almond, Hazelnut & Currant, Cherry, Mint, Caramel, Ginger, Maya Gold(R) and Espresso.

"Green & Black's believes in using only the finest organic ingredients in our chocolate, which we feel is beneficial to the taste of the final product," said Elizabeth Cheng, Director of Marketing, Green & Black's. "We are proud to align ourselves with the James Beard Foundation to offer the finest chocolate to chefs and diners."

About Green & Black's

Launched in London in 1991 by Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley, Green & Black's entered the U.S. market in 2003 and has become one of the best selling chocolates in the natural food channel. The name reveals Green & Black's key strengths -- Green for sustainable and Black to symbolize the deep, rich, dark brown (almost black) color of the chocolate. Green & Black's buys only the very best organic cocoa beans grown under the shade of indigenous rainforest trees and alongside other crops. All Green & Black's products meet the National Organic Program (NOP) standards set by the USDA, thus giving consumers of organic products an assurance that the product is from a trusted source and matches the high standards of production. For more information, visitwww.greenandblacks.com.

About the James Beard Foundation

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. For more information and membership details, please visitwww.jamesbeard.org.

SOURCE Green & Black's