On January 3rd, 2013, Danielle visited the cacao growing region of Venezuela, located in Peninsula de Paria, in Sucre State. This is the region where we source most of the beans we use in our production, and where the farm we buy from is located.
Hacienda San Jose is a family business, owned and operated by the Franceschi family since 1830. Mr. Juan de Dios Franceschi, who along with two of his brothers oversee the farms day to day operations, took time from his busy day to show me and my mom and dad around the farm. He talked not only about the history of the business but also the history of cacao.
For now, I will leave you guys with a few pictures and promise to update this post with a little bit of a story and more pictures of this very nice visit to my home country, through different eyes
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January 2013
Good Food Awards 2013
Our Dark Chocolate Basil Ganache confection has won a Good Food Award!
On January 18th, the Good Food Award winners were announced in a ceremony filled with artisan food and drink makers at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We could not be happier or more proud to say that we have won a Good Food Award. Last year we won in the chocolate category with out Goat’s Milk and Costa Rica bars. This year we won in the confections category with our Dark Chocolate Basil ganache.
“The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced.” This is taken from the Good Food Awards site and there is no better way to explain what they are. It was very inspiring to share a room filled with people that care for the food they produce, farmers, chefs, artisans and people who like and appreciate the hard work and care that goes into making good food.
When I (Danielle) decided to embark in a culinary career, 17 years ago, Chef Alice Waters was the first Chef to inspire me. Not only because she has a beautiful and successful restaurant, but because in a restaurant world filled with corporate trucks delivering mass produced food to the restaurant, she would have the farmer deliver her produce, dairy, eggs, meats. She has relationships with all of the people growing the food she cooks. She truly believes in and respects the most important person in the food industry, the farmer. Well, 17 years ago I never thought that I would get to meet her, much less, that she would be putting a medal on my neck for an award called Good Food. So Thank you to Seedlings Project for this amazing initiative, that not only recognizes us food makers, but also serves as an education platform to the public about what good food really means.
Sharon visits Escazu Artisan Chocolates and receives a tour from Danielle Centeno. Watch the video.
January 2012
GOOD FOOD AWARDS
Escazù Artisan Chocolates was the recipient of a 2012 Good Food Award. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food—the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities—contains all of these ingredients.
December 2011
Escazu Chocolate & Hal on My Carolina Today
Hal Parson from Escazu Chocolate helps celebrate Sharon’s birthday. Learn more about the chocolate here. Watch the video.
December 2011
Chick Chat on My Carolina Today
Valonda and Sharon chat about their obsession with Escazu chocolate, Valonda’s gingerbread house, the layaway fairy at K Mart and much more. Watch the video.
December 2011
Edible Whole Foods on My Carolina Today
Fred Thompson from edible Piedmont introduces us to the delicious world of chocolate with Escazu and its real chocolatier. Watch the video.
June 2011
Palmetto People
Time Warner Cable Channel 24
March 2011
Edible Piedmont Article
Local Hero, Artisan: Escazù Artisan Chocolates by Katrina Moore Link to Article
