Boyhood summer visits to his family’s idle cocoa plantations become a driving force for Diego Badaró. In resurrecting the Badaró fazenda, he’s also become a driving force for pioneering premium chocolate amongst Brazilians.
Inspired by Joao Tavares’s fine-flavored cocoa beans, gourmet chef/ psychoanalyst Samantha Aquim turns her talents toward chocolate, creating an amazing line of Brazilian premium chocolates.
Samantha Aquim, from Aquim Gastronomia, continues to help run the family catering business in Rio de Janeiro as a gourmet chef. In addition, she also continues to draw upon her education reading and researching therapy.
For the longest time, Brazilian cacao has been looked at as a remnant of what once was. Having spent several days in Bahia, Sao Paulo and Rio, I’m here to tell you that’s no longer the case.