chocoMe Magazin 10TH ISSUE autumn 2015
CHOCOME is a World and European Champion!
Harmony of new flavoures our estonian ditributor the Lemontree OĂœ introducing ahonapajandeka.hu interview with KrisztiĂĄn Kiszely
One of chocoMe‘s Raffinée flavours officially became the best dragee in the world! chocoMe received it’s first world championship Gold Medal at one of the world’s most prestigious professional chocolate competitions, the International Chocolate Awards. This achievement grants the title of the world’s best white chocolate dragee made with nuts. In the finals of the world championship - held in London as part of The Chocolate Show the Hungarian chocolate manufactory also won a Silver and Bronze Medal. Our award-winning products: Gold: chocoMe Raffinée RF108 Sicilian almonds coated with Guérande salty blonde chocolate and crispy wafer Silver: chocoMe Raffinée RF105 Almonds coated with dark chocolate, Voatsiperifery pepper and cocoa powder Bronze: chocoMe Raffinée RF107 Almonds from Avola coated with milk chocolate and tonka beans
Previous to the finals the brand was awarded with nine medals in the Eastern European regional event (four Gold, three Silver and two Bronze). This is the highest award a Hungarian chocolate maker ever received. With these recognitions the number of chocoMe’s international awards grew to 23. The international jury consisted of the most famous chocolatiers and culinary experts, sommeliers and chefs: the Seventy% (UK), the Manhattan Chocolate Society (US), the Master of Wine (UK), the “The New Taste of Chocolate” (US), the Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts (US), “The Well-Tempered Chocolatier” Canada) and many more. The chairman of the event is Martin Christy, founding member of the Academy of Chocolate in the UK and editor of the authoritative chocolate website Seventy% - who is held today as one of the worlds greatest chocolate experts.
chocoMe proved itself at a world competition again 4 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze The 5 year old chocoMe has won several awards at yet another international professional world championship. At the independent and incredibly prestigious “International Chocolate Awards” Eastern European regional event the Hungarian brand saw a smashing success again with 9 medals this time (4 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals and 2 Bronze medals). As a Hungarian competitor chocoMe won the most medals and the most Gold medals. Last year in 2014 chocoMe was the first Hungarian brand to be honoured with a medal at the same world championship. At he competition is similar to the Michelin Star in significance, but comes closer in nature to the Bocuse d’ Or. The winners of the regional events (Eastern Europe, Belgium, Scandinavia, Italy, Canada, USA etc.) will get to qualify for the World Finals, which will be held this year in London between 12-14 October. It’s worth mentioning that this years event will be part of the Salon du Chocolat (The Chocolat Show) chocolate exhibition, where chocoMe will be the only Hungarian attendee amongst the medal winners. The international jury will consist of the most famous chocolatiers and culinary experts, sommeliers and chefs: the Seventy% (UK), the Manhattan Chocolate Society (US), the Master of Wine (UK), the “The New Taste of Chocolate” (US), the Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts (US), “The Well-Tempered Chocolatier” Canada) and many more. The chairman of the event is Martin Christy, founding member of the Academy of Chocolate in the UK and editor of the authoritative chocolate website Seventy% - who is held today as one of the worlds greatest chocolate experts. “This kind of prestigious acknowledgment is an absolute honour, I can’t believe that out of our 11 entries 9 won a medal.” - said Gábor Mészáros chocolatier, founding owner of chocoMe. „But we cannot rest yet: we would like to prove ourselves in the London finals as well - we would love to win at least one Gold medal in the world championship.” - added Gábor Mészáros.
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chocoMe's latest Raffinée flavoures: The blonde chocolate and the coffee cardamom flavoured Sicilian almond
Our new products differ and complement each other like Jin and Jang. Sicilian almonds coated with Guérande salty blonde chocolate and crispy wafer / RF108 The thin, long almonds from Sicily are creamy and free of any sourness in aftertaste. We mix them with crispy wafer and give them a blonde chocolate bath, through which they acquire the elementary characteristic caramel notes thanks to the Guérande salt. We roll the almonds with a thin layer of wafer, to make them even more crispy. Valrhona 32% blonde chocolate After the well known dark, milk and white chocolates, the French Valrhona chocolate makers created a fourth one, and they call it blonde. With it's wheat-like hue it falls between the milk and white chocolates in colour, in taste it is closer to the later with a high note of elementary caramel. The relative obscurity of the blonde chocolate is mostly due to the difficulty of the production process: it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to caramelize the sugar involved without burning the added milk powder. Guérándé salt Thanks to unique micro climate of the Guérande settlement on the Bretagne peninsula the salt that originates from here has a much higher molecular complexity than ordinary table salt or sea salt. The locals tirelessly work now for generations to perfect and apply their delicate, century old trade of extracting the salt crystals from drops of the ocean while maintaining it's high moisture content and one of a kind taste. The Guérande salt received the French Label Rogue certification, which is the authenticated guarantee of quality from the French government in the food industry.
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chocoMe Cao 70% csokoládé bemutatása - aalmonds Voilécoated termékeink alapanyaga Sicilian with Arabica coffeeegyedülálló flavoured dark chocolate and cardamom RF109 A francia Cacao Barry 70% kakaótartalmú étcsokoládéja lehengerlően kakaós karakterrel We take some of the finest, intensively creamy, unusually flat Sicilian almonds, rendelkezik. A csokoládé alapjául szolgáló, válogatott kakaóbabok az egyenlítő közelében and dip them in a chocolate mass flavoured with carefully roasted and ground elhelyezkedő ültetvényről származnak, ahol a különleges terroir és a kedvező időjárási Arabica coffee beans. When almonds are completely saturated with the exquisite körülményeknek köszönhetően egyedülállóan gazdag aromákat hordoznak. A csokoládéban coffee aroma, we roll them around in exotic cardamom and cocoa powder. így az erőteljes kakaósságot enyhén virágos és savanykás gyümölcsös jegyek teszik teljessé.
A Cacao60% Barry mint 170 éve a with kíváló minőségű chocome darktöbb chocolate flavoured Arabica coffeecsokoládék megkérdőjelezhetetlen szakértője – a francia gasztronómia szimbóluma -, neves francia séfek, szaktekintélyek, Cocoa and coffee beans. Two separate and undoubtedly complex base ingredients, innovatív csokoládékészítők és mestercukrászok választása. Egyedi terroir és rendkívül coming together as one in this uniquely flavoured piece of dark chocolate.The chocolate kedvező időjárási jellemzik ahol a kakaó gyümölcsöket helyi that chocoMe uses inviszonyok this creation comeskakaóültetvényeiket, from none other than Michel Cluizel, and termesztik, melynek the köszönhetően kézzelconching begyűjtött és wefarmerek don't useközreműködésével aromas during the process, we combine ingredients aduring (the mixing and pressing ofpáratlanul finely ground, roasted cocoa beans with cocoa butter), so válogatott kakaóbabjaik gazdag aromával rendelkeznek. the hand-picked Arabica pieces can enchant the silky texture of the chocolate mass.
VL101
VL102
VL103
Cardamom After saffron and vanilla this exotic, intense spice with it's camphory aroma is the third most expensive in world, and for good reason. Due to it's rich flavour ingredients it is well liked and used in coffees, marinades, liqueurs, as well as in cakes. Added to chocolate it's citrusy, a bit sour component will become dominant, but compliments perfectly the spice's own characteristically smokey, mint-like, refreshing high notes.
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OUR ESTONIAN DISTRIBUTOR the Lemontree OÜ INTERVIEW with Maria Üprüs Please introduce yourselves, how did you start the cooperation with chocoMe? Lemontree OÜ is food and non-food wholesale and distribution company, our mission is to offer the consumers high quality products. We met chocoMe at a food fair. Lemontree OÜ has a wide product portfolio and we work every day with different producers from all around the world. chocoMe came and gave extra value to our portfolio and also to our market. Our sales and marketing team consists of 5 people. What kind of experiencies come back about your first meeting with chocoMe? chocoMe's products seemed very interesting but expensive at first, but the chocoMe team changed our thinking about the creations and that gave us the push to start. What was your first impression about the products? We remember after the first actual meeting with chocoMe, when we arrived with the product samples to our office and got a chance to see, taste and touch everything. After that we were sure that we want to be the ones to work with this brand and introduce the chocoMe products in our country. How did you remember on the time when you first introduced the chocoMe chocolates in your country? The feedback what we got was amazing because it was a unique product, something never seen before. It is very eye catching, with a wide selection and everyone was pretty intereseted. What do you think, which are the most popular chocoMe creations in Estonia? Most popular are dark chocolates with berries. But generally speaking chocoMe is the NO.1 product in Lemontree`s sweet portfolio, that says everything. What do you think, which are the most important considerations in term of sales? What are your plans for the future? Firstly we would say thewhole product concept, the taste, the design. The other important factors are visiblity and sales channels. We would like to widen the sales channels and range of products. We don't yet attend events but we do marketing via our Facebook and homepage and through in-store activities. Which is your favourite chocoMe creation? Dark chocolates and no added sugar creations.
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INTRODUCING Brigitta Patkós owner of the ahonapajandeka.hu webshop Pár szóban mutasd be kérlek vállalkozásodat! I started the Gift of the Month gift delivery service 6 years ago in 2009. We work as a webshop, and our main profile is nation-wide flower and gift delivery, but we also sell branded corporate promotional gifts. Our gift packs consist mainly of domestic and foreign hand-made products: chocolate, tea, coffee, jams, honey, wine and other delicacies. The name comes from the fact that we give an option to subscribe to our service, which is a well known model abroad, but mostly unheard of in Hungary. Basically we surprise your business partners or loved ones with a gift pack each month. Which raises caring and attention to a whole new level. What is the basic principle when you're looking for a new item for your webshop? Since the beginning I was striving to be more than just another delivery service, I wanted to create something fresh and unique. Top quality is the bare minimum, if I put a product in one of my gift packs it has to be gorgeous, something that you can't just pop out and buy at your local supermarket. Most of our products are hand-made by Hungarian craftsman, and they are very popular amongst our customers. How did you get in contact with chocoMe-vel? How did the cooperation start? We started working together with Gábor in the Autumn of 2010. He contacted me to introduce the brand, and as in the gift delivery business the appearance of a product is as important as the taste and quality, I liked the stylish creations immediately. We put a couple of chocoMe creations into our inventory and they were so popular that we don't just use the whole range of chocolate bars nowdays, but the Carré and Raffinée products are also on the menu. When is the start of the season, when do people buy the most chocolate? The gift market is pretty unbalanced, most of our sales are toward the end of the year, as this is the time when not just our customers but also the corporatation start to look for a way to surpsrise their partners. Naturally that's when we sell the most chocolate, next to red wine it is the season's most popular item. Which is the most popular chocoMe product in your inventory? We sell most of our sour cherry - pistachio Entrées. It is very popular amongst corporations as it is very stylish in and of itself, put a bow on it and you're good to go. The other creation is the wildpepper-dark chocolate covered almond. Which one is your personal favourite chocoMe creation? My favourite is the pecan in salted caramel. It is a very well made combination and unfortunately one I cannot resist. I can eat a whole box or two in mere minutes :)
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InTERVIEW WITH KRISZTIÁN KISZELY chocoMe's Graphic designer Please introduce yourself in a few words and tell us how you got in contact with chocoMe? I got my degree at the University of Art and Design (called MOME today) as visual communication artist and photographer, but if I'd have to describe what I do today I'd be in trouble, as in the last 20 years I worked in almost every field of the visual arts (photo, graphic design, video, 3D animation). At first I worked for major companies, then when I became a freelancer I discovered that no matter how diverse the world of art is, the same rules of framing, shapes, colour and composition apply if we talk about a footage or still images. And once you become familiar with these rules you realize, that the only thing you ever wanted is to create something beautiful, in the broadest sense of the word ...and that's where chocoMe came into the picture, exactly 3 years ago. We worked together with Gyula Ebedli previously, and through him I got my first commission. Did you know the company before or the products? Not the company. But Gyula showed me the projects he's been working on several times, and I was lucky enough to have a bite. Do chocoMe's international pertners also benefit from your work? Yes, if I look at the chocoMe projects folder on my computer I see the name of a dosen countries from China to Canada. What is the real challenge for you personally in these projects? The best part is that I understand every aspect of it and that in itself is also the challenge. I'm there when we start to design the package of a new product, or when I'm editing the 28th shot of the image spot, not to mention the product shooting, the print preparation of the package or musical composing. It is very diverse, but also there's a unifiying vision of the feel and identity of the brand. What do you spend your time with when not designing and shooting for chocoMe? As a freelancer I do the same kind of work for different clients. I'm also a graphic design teacher at an art school. I like teaching it pushes you to be professionally prepared always. Convaying knowledge is only possible with a structured visual thinking. It is also a reward in itself, it was a fantastic feeling when two of my pupils got into MOME, the apex of Hungarian design. As I live in the countryside in a lovely little village I'm never bored, there's always something to do around the house. I also have several children so the concept of free time is realtive, in a good way. To sum it up: I drink my own home made wine and palinka, we eat the vegetables we grow in the garden. The closeness of nature is also a great inspiration in terms of creativity, I also have a band, we play the music scores of the Bud Spencer and Terence Hill movies for 9 years now, we are called: the Spencer Hill Magic Band. Which one was your favourite project made for chocoMe? I really liked making the image spots as everything was under my control. Direction, camera work, editing, composing the music, but I also love shooting the Raffinée dragees in my studio, tinkering with the lights to get the best effect. Which one is your favourite creation? The salty blonde chocolate Raffinée, I can't say no to it, and as the holidays approach the Voilés will take the stage, doesn't matter which one.
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Virágok és virágos Introducing
csokoládék forgatagában
Zsuzsa Tagscherer How did you end up in the chocoMe team? How long have you been working for the company? My workplace shut down in 2014 and I was added to the chocoMe team through a tempagency. I was hired as a full-time employee in 2015.
What did you do before joining the team? I was working at a technology firm, at assembly and dismantling lines. Other than fitting parts I also did logistics.
What's your job at chocoMe precisely? I package, label and comply the orders after I receive the finished products.
Do you have a favourite chocoMe product? The hazelnut Raffinée and the MG103 dark chocolate with fruits and nuts. Simply put the hollow, round, filled, dark, milk, blonde, nutty and fruity!
What is the best part of your work? That I'm an effective part of a great team. What are the pros and cons of your work? In the main season I'm tired all the time, but it is a great feeling to see the creations I carefully packaged on the shelves of the shops and holiday kiosks.
How do you spend your free time when you are not busy with chocoMe chocolates? I'm with my family and I'm actively resting. We like to go on trips, fishing, attend football matches (Videoton), and sleep in as much as we can!
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chocoMe Kft. 1135 Budapest, Kisgรถmb utca 23. www.chocome.hu info@chocome.hu www.facebook.com/chocome.hu +361 789 5755