Food Thoughts wins THREE Great Taste 2022 awards
Food Thoughts has scooped three Great Taste 2022 awards for their vegan-friendly Chocolate Coated Roasted Cacao Nibs, Luxury White Chocolate Chips and Oat Mylk Chocolate Chips. Food Thoughts was the first fairly traded cocoa powder to be launched in the UK and ethics and sustainability are at the heart of everything they do - along with great taste of course!
The competition was tough this year. They were among 12,634 entries judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists.
“We are delighted that we impressed the judges,” says Food Thoughts CEO Fiona Esom. “We only use premium grade cocoa beans in our products - the top 8% in the world. Our Chocolate Coated Roasted Cacao Nibs are completely and utterly addictive. They are roasted, which deepens the flavour and have a lovely crunch. Our Luxury White Chocolate Chips are made with 35% cacao, which means they are unlike the majority of white chocolate products people are used to - they are more chocolatey and less sweet. Our Oat Mylk Chocolate Chips are hugely popular with vegans and anybody who is avoiding dairy.
“Bakes made with Food Thoughts ingredients will have a rich chocolatey flavour, they won’t be brown cakes that only taste of sugar. That’s one of the reasons why we entered Great Taste. We know how great our chocolate products taste and wanted the seal of approval that will add credibility and open doors to new retailers.
“Taste is everything, but we also find that our customers are very principled about what they buy. At Food Thoughts we are committed to supporting our farmers in Colombia. They are mostly small, family-owned businesses that use natural methods to process the beans, such as drying them in the sun to lock in flavour and nutrients.”
Food Thoughts uses cocoa beans farmed in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Powders are supplied by Pronatec YACAO - these are organically cultivated and fairly traded and farmed in the Dominican Republic. The chips are supplied by Luker chocolate, a co-operative that has provided new roads, aqueducts training, a community centre and other initiatives for growers.
About Food Thoughts
Food Thoughts started as a single cocoa powder in the 80s conceived by Oxfam - it was the first fairly traded cocoa powder to be launched in the UK. Ethics has remained at the heart of everything they do. All of Food Thoughts’ organically cultivated and fairly traded cocoa and cacao powders come from the Dominican Republic and the chips are made from Colombian cocoa. They only use ‘fino de aroma’ cocoa beans - 8% of cocoa beans achieve this high-level grade. They work with two suppliers, YACAO and Luker Chocolate, a family-owned business in Colombia founded in 1906 that works with 2,500 farming families. Natural methods are used to prepare the beans, for example, they are sun-dried for 14 days to help lock in flavour and nutrients. Luker Chocolate’s sustainability and well-being plan The Chocolate Dream helps to develop schools, plant trees, build infrastructure and improve living conditions.