Building “Chocolate Foundations”: the journey behind innovation
Chocolate Foundations 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 the freedom to explore, adapt and create. What we present today as a tool for chefs and professionals in the sweet world traveled a road full of milestones, challenges and collaboration.
And, as is usually the case with anything really worthwhile, its development was anything but linear.
A project that seeks to take off
In 2019, the idea of creating a technical recipe book was beginning to take hold. We put our efforts into structuring the content, defining categories, adjusting recipes and outlining a vision: focused, professional and aligned with the real needs of our customers.
At the beginning of 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 Foundations project and bring it to the technical level we had always imagined. In 2021, a new work plan was approved, allowing us to start from scratch in 2022. This time, with a clear roadmap: defined testing times, 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 that would be tested in Quito-Ecuador and then validated in France with the support of our sister company Valrhona and its team of expert chefs. To this end, we were able to invite chef David Briand, Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in pastry and confectionery, to join us in this crucial stage of the project. His arrival marked a milestone: for the first time, our formulas would be evaluated to the highest technical standards.
At that time, we did not yet have our own workshop. Thanks to one of our academic alliances, we were able to get a space to work.
The week of validation 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 were not ideal, as we did not have all the technical equipment necessary for high-precision chocolate testing. Even so, we made the most of every minute.
Receiving a MOF was an honor, but also a turning point. His impeccable technique and critical eye made us see clearly the challenges that still lay ahead.
Equipment, conditions, raw materials and technical support: everything had a direct influence on the standard we were aiming for.
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 was born the idea of a new project: our CACAO° LAB.
The 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 project team, we conceptualized what would soon become the CACAO° LAB.
Throughout 2023, the approach was clear and decisive. We designed the space from scratch, selected every technical detail, quoted equipment, contracted suppliers and closely followed each phase of construction. In this process, we consolidated a strategic alliance with Termalimex, a leading local company in gastronomic machinery, which became an essential ally in equipping the laboratory with state-of-the-art technology.
In the meantime, the Chocolate Foundations project had to wait. Finally, at the beginning of 2024, we inaugurated the CACAO° LAB: a laboratory of excellence, designed by and for chefs, with the purpose of promoting innovation, quality and the strengthening of the art of chocolate. It was there that we reactivated the definitive work plan for this tool. This time, with everything necessary to move forward without pause and with increasingly higher validation standards.
2024-2025: a path to success in precision and excellence
In 2024, we began a new stage in the development of Chocolate Foundations. This time, with a clear, rigorous and realistic roadmap, which allowed us to move forward with focus, exigency 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 months, we concentrated on testing and formulating each recipe from scratch, fine-tuning variables and documenting each result with precision. Only then, with a solid foundation, 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 final testing. During five weeks of intensive work, the team's observations and technical recommendations helped us polish 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 in our real working conditions. At the beginning of 2025, we successfully closed this stage.
At the same time, we started the layout of the cookbook, its translation and final edition. It was not only about compiling recipes, but also 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.
This concluded a project that took years of continuous improvement and development. A project in which every texture, every formula and every technical decision was worked on with the same care with which a good chocolate is chosen: with knowledge, intention and respect for what it represents.
Today, we proudly present a tool that led us to reinvent our path, always guided by the pursuit of excellence. We are deeply grateful to all the people who were part of this project, especially our corporate chef Andrea López, whose expertise, vision and commitment made this technical dream come true. Thanks also to the República del Cacao team, for always rowing in the same direction and adding from each area with the same purpose.
And a special acknowledgement to our partners at L'École Valrhona and to Chef David Briand (MOF) and his team at Tain-l'Hermitage, for their demanding approach, support and vision. Their technical guidance was key to achieving the standard we proudly share today.
The Chocolate Foundations is much more than a recipe book: it is a collective construction, a commitment to shared knowledge and a new starting point for everything to come.
