Academy of Chocolate Awards 2020

The Academy of Chocolate announces the final results of its annual competition, with a record number of 47 Gold accreditations.

Despite Covid-19 restrictions delaying the judging, virtual and in-person tastings managed to be conducted over an 8 week period.

The result is a record number of Gold accreditations; "a significant increase" from previous years, and signals "a major shift in the quality of bean to bar chocolate production".

There was a particular rise in the use of Indian cacao (notably Kerala) as well as cocoas from Ecuador, Madagascar and Peru.

Previous winners including Akessons and Chocolat Madagascar, returned with new chocolate bars alongside new micro-batch chocolate makers.

The Academy of Chocolate was founded in 2005 by 5 British chocolate professionals and campaigns for better chocolate and promotes a greater awareness of the difference between fine chocolate and mass-produced confectionery.

It encourages chocolate lovers to "look beyond the label" to differentiate between chocolate confectionery and 'real' chocolate, and aims to improve the standard & knowledge of chocolate in the UK by promoting an understanding of the ingredients of chocolate, from bean to bar. Demand for fine chocolate will act as an incentive to select better quality cocoa beans and have a greater impact on the cocoa growing regions.

It also encourages the transparent sourcing of cocoa beans and a socially fair, environmentally friendly production of cacao from plantations around the world.