What are the greatest challenges and rewards of heading Valrhona’s operations in MENA?
Valrhona has always been a step ahead as the leader of the cocoa world. We feel it is crucial to support chefs with high product quality and value to bring them an extraordinary experience throughout their journey with Valrhona – from new products to events or our Cercle V program for pastry chefs. We are always on the lookout to exchange on the brand values that are dear to all of us, from distributors to customers.
End consumers are looking for more transparency on their plate, in addition to traceability and fairness around the value chain of production. which is in line with Valrhona B Corp certification awarded in 2020 that ensures tomorrow’s responsible gastronomy, making us a guardian of the values shared by chefs and end users. Furthermore, we have to remain attentive and proactive in our search for excellence – attentive to the market changes and our chefs’ needs, and proactive in finding solutions for a better tomorrow.
The HUB was created in Dubai to allow us to be closer to our distributors, their needs, to develop relationships with our chefs and indirect markets. This investment, combined with our partners in the GCC, provides us with flexibility and agility.
Why did you choose to partner with W50B in the region?
World’s 50 Best made total sense for us; it is one of the most prestigious awards that promotes gastronomy and sustainability. We are extremely happy to be part of the first edition of W50B in the MENA region, inspiring future generations to challenge themselves, innovate and connect around food. We are proud to announce a lengthy partnership with the World’s 50 Best organization for years to come.
What are your plans for IMEA?
We aim to share experiential moments with our chefs and distributors, empower our chefs and be part of the IMEA’s gastronomy scene. Our goal is to promote pastry all over the region. We have a robust activation plan to create exceptional moments with our partners. Next week, we will welcome Pierre Hermé and Frédéric Bau for a special series of events, taking pastry to another level.
How would you describe Valrhona?
Valrhona is a Bcorp company that specializes in making high-quality chocolate for chefs and artisans.
Our mission is to foster a collective movement that brings together cocoa, chocolate and gastronomy players to move toward a fair and sustainable cocoa world.
Why did you decide to collaborate with W50B?
W50B has a modern approach to food. We share a common vision of what the gastronomy of tomorrow should resemble, considering gastronomy as a whole and highlighting global experiences and sustainability. W50B is shining a bright light on incredible rising talents in regions, especially in MENA and Asia where Valrhona has a strong presence.
What are Valrhona’s latest marketing campaigns?
In 2021 we launched Amatika, a vegan chocolate made with 46 percent cocoa and almonds to replace milk.
We also launched Millot 74 percent, which is an organic single-origin chocolate made with cocoa from a unique plantation in Madagascar — Millot, our partner for 30 years.
Finally, our major campaign is Oabika, a cocoa byproduct and completely new material. It is the first 72-degree Brix cocoa fruit juice concentrate available on the market. Made by squeezing the juice that is inside the mucilage, the white pulp that envelops cocoa beans into the pod, it tastes nothing like chocolate. Its silky texture and amber color make it similar to honey. It also reveals a rare, complex and subtle aromatic profile. It combines fruity and tangy notes, such as passion fruit, with rounder notes of candied fruit. A single drop of it takes you deep inside a cocoa plantation. It is a new experience to those who work with it and to those who taste it.
What can you tell us about Valrhona’s core values?
Our values include passion, commitment and excellence.
At Valrhona, we are all passionate about our business and about chocolate, which helps us with our creative processes.
At Valrhona, we are all committed to creating a fair and sustainable cocoa world and to inspiring a gastronomy that looks good, tastes good and does good things for the world. It guides us in everything we do, every project with work on and every product we develop for our customers. The pursuit for excellence compels us to hold ourselves to the highest standards, as well as to attain top quality in our work, products and performance. We are seeking excellence in everything we do including the relationship with our partners, suppliers and especially our customers from all over the world.
At Valrhona, we believe in guiding our clients toward more responsible practices. In order to achieve this, we are developing several tools and services, such as the sweet sustainable gastronomy guide and a self-assessment tool that’s available on valrhona.com.
Gourmandise Raisonnee is another good example. It is a book written by Frederic Bau, a Valrhona pastry explorer. It took Frederic Bau 15 years to complete, with the help of Thierry Hann- nutritionist, Raphaël Haumont – chemist and the Valrhona R&D experts. In this book, he explores new ways of creating pastry, using less fat, less sugar and new ingredients to put together recipes with the same taste and pleasure.
Valrhona and Koa Switzerland are tapping into the trend of using upcycled ingredients so they co-created Oabika, a new cocoa fruit juice concentrate for chefs and gastronomy professionals. Why did you choose to partner with Koa?
We chose KOA because they are experts and pioneers in the valorization of cocoa juice in Ghana since 2017.
They have developed a very innovative and sustainable way of collecting cocoa juice directly from the plantation thanks to a mobile unit powered by solar energy.
Furthermore, we share the same values.
Emirati-born Sahar Parham Al Awadhi has gone against the grain during her career. Although she started out in marketing, it wasn’t long before she discovered her calling for the gastronomic arts. Passionate about desserts that showcase her heritage, she became the first female Emirati chef to work at the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel and is now making history as the inaugural Middle East & North Africa’s Best Pastry Chef winner.
Words from Sahar Parham, the Middle East & North Africa’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Valrhona:
“It’s an absolute honor, and I’m so humbled by the voters’ faith in me! It’s an extra special moment to be part of the inaugural MENA World 50 Best Awards in my home country.”
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector. Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC). She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book. She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter. Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler. It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
