SPECIAL
REPORT
27
JAN 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
Cacao is another agricultural crop that can be found
most inPeru.While takinga journey to Icacity, itwasa
great opportunity tovisit theoldest traditional chocolate
shop in town. Helena Chocolatier- it is now becoming
oneofamust-places,whereany travelers to Icasholud
never miss to sense and enjoy the original taste of
real Peru-style premier chocolate here. Apart from its
well- known exceptional taste, welcoming all travelers
through a giant window sash is another highlight here
atHelenaChocolatierwherevisitorscanalsoenjoy the
fresh scene of chocolate production while tasting the
chocolate. In this journey, itwasagreat chanceever for
our internationalpress team tovisit inside theproduction
factory. Before taking everyone to the inner part of the
factory, let’s enjoy original backgrounds and situations
of cacao and chocolate inPeru.
Peru, Cacao andChocolate
According to theCacao in
Peru:ARisingStar report fromPeru’sMinistry of Foreign trade and
Tourism, Peru and cacao share an age old intimate relationship.
Although the debate is still open about the origin of the ubiquitous
cacao tree, the strongest palebotanicandphytogenetic thesisholds
the shrub originated in the tropical Andes foothills, in theAmazona
andOrinoco rivers’ watersheds.
Additionally, Peru ranks among the world’s countries with the
greatestbiologicaldiversityand the fourthas regardsdiversityofplant
species.This isakeypiece inunderstandingnot just theworldboom
of Peruvian cuisinewhere chocolate fillsaprivilegedniche, but also
the great potential and quality of Peruvian chocolate. Good flavour,
made possible by a combination of taste and scent, of drinking, bar
andotherchocolatepresentations, is the resultof thecombinedeffect
of the diversity of species, soils and climates for cacao. That iswhy
Peruvian chocolateandmoregenerallyPeruvian cacaoaregaining
increasingworld acceptance.
In2012,worldcacaooutput isestimatedat4.8millionmetric tons
and is expected to increaseevery year.Althoughdemandwill come
mostly from developed countries, greater consumption is also expected
fromemergingandnew industrialmarkets inEasternEurope, India,China
andRussia,as theirpopulations increase theirpurchasingpoweranddaily
lives becomemore refined.
Started Local…and Now Global
“Helena Chocolatier
founded in Ica,Peru in1975byElenaSolerdePanizowithagreat love for
Chocolateand forTejas -a traditional sweet treatof Icacreatedmore than
a century ago, was started as a hobby when Elena created chocotejas
by coveringTejaswith an exquisite gourmet chocolatemade from finest
Peruvian, organic cacao.” Maria Eugenia Vera Pachas, Planning and
Development Manager of HelenaChocolatier startred started the tour.
Chocotejashavecentersof dulcede lechecaramel with roastednuts
or cameralized fruits bathed in gourmet chocolate. Many exotic natural
ingredientsandflavorsareusedsuchas:pecan,chestnut,walnut,orange,
lemon, guava, prune and our home speciality raisin soaked in Peruvian
Pisco liqueur.
It all startedout asahomebasedbusiness.Prepared,mixed, cooked,
wrapped each item individually, packaged and delivered them to
friends, neighbors, shops and local businesses, these used to be done
manually. Not anymore, the factory now has featuredwithmanymodern
equipments and machine in some steps of the process in the factory.
“Beside than just to ensure that wewill be able to deliver every order in
time, incorporated thesesemi-andautomaticmachines insomestepalso
give us the faster production and the consistency of finished products
without losingany quality and standards.
Thanks the uniqueness, delicious and elegant wrapping, Helena
Chocolatier started to grow worldwide. “Currently, Helena Chocolatier
has its ownmanufacturing plant in Ica, distribution centers in Lima and
Miami, Florida along with a chain of Chocolate Boutiques.” Maria noted
and continued that “Today we are growing a lot further with 20% of our
productsbeingexported tocountriessuchasTheUS,ChileandColombia.”
GoPremium andDark…
Theworld is clearlymoving towards
the consumption of premium chocolate and, in particular, dark, high
fat content chocolate. This trend opens large growth opportunities for
Peruvian cacao, in the race to compete on an equal footing with cacao
frommajor traditional producing countries. “Here, we already added an
organic chocolate processing line to support that demand. Our 70%
CacaoChocolate is the product that we developed and produced in this
line which mainly to serve international tourists who mostly prefer a lot
less sweet”Maria explained.
อั
ครพล อนั
นตโชติ
ArkkrapolAnantachote
Assistant Editor
FoodFocusThailandMagazine
Chocotejasby
HelenaChocolatier
OneoftheBestConfectioneryfrom Ica, Peru
