Building “The Chocolate Fundamentals”: The Journey Behind the Innovation
The Fundamentals of Chocolate is the result of years of work, research, and passion for chocolate. This tool brings together carefully developed base recipes to explore the full potential of our portfolio.
Each formula in this first release was designed to offer precision, but also freedom to explore, adapt, and create. What we present today as a tool for chefs and professionals in the pastry world traveled a path full of milestones, challenges, and collaboration.
And, as usually happens with everything truly worthwhile, its development was anything but linear.
A project that aims to take off
In 2019, the idea of creating a technical cookbook began to solidify. We focused our efforts on structuring the content, defining categories, refining recipes, and outlining a vision: focused, professional, and aligned with the real needs of our clients.
In early 2020, we proposed to focus its execution from the United States. We thoroughly defined its content, enthusiasm was high, and everything pointed to a promising start. However, the pandemic arrived, and we faced new challenges and a different path.
A new beginning, guided by excellence
Our corporate chef, Andrea López, took on a key mission: to take on the Chocolate Fundamentals project and elevate it to the technical level we had always envisioned. In 2021, a new work plan was approved, allowing us to start from scratch in 2022. This time, with a clear roadmap: defined testing timelines, an assigned base budget, and a detailed list of key ingredients and processes.
The initial plan was ambitious. We would prioritize the most sensitive categories, which would be tested in Quito, Ecuador, and subsequently validated in France with the support of our sister company, Valrhona, and its team of expert chefs. To achieve this, we managed to invite Chef David Briand, Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in pastry and confectionery, to join this crucial stage of the project. His arrival marked a milestone: for the first time, our formulas would be evaluated under the highest technical standard.
Back then, we didn't have our own workshop yet. Thanks to one of our academic partnerships, we managed to secure a space to work.
The validation week with Chef David was demanding. We tested multiple formulas and built a detailed validation guide: texture variables, temperatures, emulsions, freezing times... every detail counted. In this process, we discovered that the conditions weren't ideal since we didn't have all the necessary technical equipment for high-precision chocolate testing. Still, we made the most of every minute.
Hosting an MOF was an honor, but also a turning point. Their impeccable technique and critical gaze made us clearly see the challenges that still lay ahead.
Equipment, conditions, raw materials, and technical support: everything directly influenced the standard we aimed to achieve.
And it was at that moment that we understood: if we wanted to build a tool of excellence, we needed an environment that was up to the task. Thus, the idea for a new project was born: our CACAO° LAB.
El CACAO° LAB: An environment up to the challenge
In December of that year, we made a key decision: to build our own innovation lab. In less than a month, and in coordination with the projects team, we conceptualized what would soon become CACAO° LAB.
Throughout 2023, the focus was clear and decisive. We designed the space from scratch, selected every technical detail, quoted equipment, hired suppliers, and closely followed each phase of construction. In this process, we solidified a strategic alliance with Termalimex, a leading local company in gastronomic machinery, which became an essential ally in equipping the laboratory with cutting-edge technology.
Meanwhile, the Chocolate Foundations project had to wait. Finally, at the beginning of 2024, we inaugurated CACAO° LAB: a center of excellence, designed by and for chefs, with the purpose of driving innovation, quality, and the strengthening of the chocolate-making art. It was there that we reactivated the definitive work plan for this tool. This time, with everything necessary to move forward without pauses and with increasingly high validation standards.
2024–2025: A Path to Success in Precision and Excellence
In 2024, we are kicking off a new phase in the development of Chocolate Fundamentals. This time, with a clear, rigorous, and realistic roadmap, which has allowed us to move forward with focus, high standards, and a long-term vision.
Four months of intensive pre-validation followed. We started with the most technical and sensitive categories: mousses, creams, ganaches, ice creams, and sorbets. During the first few months, we focused on testing and formulating each recipe from scratch, fine-tuning variables and meticulously documenting each result. Only then, with solid foundations, did we take our recipes to France for final validation.
In mid-2024, we embarked on a key journey: the team of chefs at L’École Valrhona in Tain-l’Hermitage, led by executive chef David Briand (MOF), welcomed us for the final trials. During five weeks of intensive work, the team's observations and technical recommendations helped us refine each texture, adjust proportions, and consolidate formulas to international standards.
Upon our return, we dedicated ourselves to re-testing the recipes in Quito. The objective was to observe how the validated formulas behaved with our local raw materials and under our real working conditions. At the beginning of 2025, we successfully closed this phase.
In parallel, we began the layout of the recipe book, its translation, and final editing. It wasn't just about compiling recipes, but about presenting a clear, technical, and accessible tool for our customers around the world.
Finally, we prepared the official launch. We created the materials that would accompany this powerful tool and defined the strategy to present it to our local and international community of chefs, distributors, and allies.
And so concluded a project that took years of continuous refinement and development. A project in which every texture, every formula, and every technical decision was crafted with the same care with which one chooses fine chocolate: with knowledge, intention, and respect for what it represents.
Today, with great pride, we present a tool that led us to reinvent our path, always guided by the pursuit of excellence. We deeply thank everyone who was part of this project, especially our corporate chef Andrea López, whose expertise, vision, and commitment made it possible for this technical dream to become a reality. Thanks also to the República del Cacao team, for always rowing in the same direction and contributing from each area with the same purpose.
And special recognition to our allies at L’École Valrhona and Chef David Briand (MOF) and his team in Tain-l’Hermitage, for their high standards, support, and vision. Their technical guidance was key to achieving the standard we proudly share today.
The Fundamentals of Chocolate is much more than a recipe book: it is a collective construction, a commitment to shared knowledge, and a new starting point for everything that comes next.
