Barry Callebaut is about to make the world a little bit sweeter — with the newest addition to its string of 19 Chocolate Academy Centers around the world. The fourth of its kind in the Asia Pacific, the latest center will be in Tokyo, Japan.
This state-of-the-art facility will provide chefs and culinary professionals the chance to train and experiment with the most comprehensive and diverse selection of high-quality global gourmet chocolate products. About 38,000 professionals and artisans receive training at these Chocolate Academy centers every year.
Tokyo’s rich culinary background and love for innovation in food should be the perfect place for the latest Chocolate Academy. It will be a place to exchange technical skills, training, dialogue, and enthusiasm for all aspects of chocolate and cocoa products.
“Japan is Asia’s largest consumer market for chocolate confectionery and it is highly recognized for chocolate innovation. The new Chocolate Academy center in Tokyo brings us even closer to our regional Gourmet customers and will enable the Barry Callebaut Group to be in a better position to capitalize on growth opportunities in the region,” says Mikael Neglen, president, Chocolate Asia Pacific, Barry Callebaut. “It also reaffirms our commitment to the Japanese market place and its highly skilled professional chocolatiers and other users of chocolate.”
Kohei Ogata, appointed head of Tokyo Chocolate Academy center and Callebaut chef, brings 17 years of international and local experience to the table. He is most recognized for his work as the Chef Pâtissier in Japan for Henri Le Roux, the famous French chocolatier and caramélier, which has its chic chocolate shops in Paris, Brittany, and Tokyo.
Andres Lara, Cacao BarryRegional Chef Asia Pacific, will also be based in the Chocolate Academy center in Tokyo.
The Chocolate Academy center in Japan will also showcase the knowledge accumulated over more than 150 years by Barry Callebaut’s global gourmet chocolate brands Callebaut(Belgium), Cacao Barry(France) and Carma (Switzerland).
“The opening of Barry Callebaut’s 19th Chocolate Academy center in Tokyo is a symbolic move in promoting our position as a leader in the gourmet chocolate sector in the region. The new center will offer chefs world-class support and enable them to harness their skills to bring the best innovations in chocolate,” says Pascale Meulemeester, vp global gourmet brand marketing, Barry Callebaut Group.
The center’s offerings include a wide range of workshops, courses and demonstrations for professional customers in all sectors, including: chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers and other chocolate experts, as well as culinary professionals working in hotels, restaurants and the catering business.
They will be able to benefit from the modern kitchen and utensils that the academy is equipped with, to perfect their expertise in chocolate under the guidance of Barry Callebaut’s specially-trained and renowned chefs and the elite Chocolate Ambassadors Club.
Japan is the biggest per capita consumer of chocolate in the Asia Pacific, with an average of 1.9 kg. per annum, according to ICA/Caobisco.
Callebauthas been making chocolate for more than 100 years in the heart of Belgium and is still one of the rare chocolate makers to select, roast and grind cacao beans into its own secret and exclusive cocoa mass — the most important ingredient for chocolate couvertures.
Cacao Barry provides the most complete palette of products, to all passionate chocolate craftsmen around the world, including: chocolate and couvertures, pralinés, origins and exclusive plantations, 3/3 decorations and moulds, inspiring them and opening doors to new creative experiences. Cacao Berry is the French chocolate brand of Barry Callebaut.
Carma, the Swiss chocolate brand of Barry Callebaut, offers a wide range of high-quality products, which are manufactured in Switzerland. It’s line up includes couvertures, Massa TicinoTM, baking pastes, fruit products, instant products, and toppings.
