Barry Callebaut opens its 20th CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in Milan, Italy, led by world champion Davide Comaschi
Barry Callebaut opens its 20th CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in Milan, Italy, led by world champion Davide Comaschi
Massimo Garavaglia, President EMEA, cuts the ribbon to formally open Barry Callebaut’s 20th CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in Milan, Italy.
Massimo Garavaglia, President EMEA, said in his opening speech: "The future for chocolate is bright, whether you look at it from an innovation perspective, or from a perspective of creativity, or from the perspective of new applications. Therefore, it’s really a good moment for all of us to celebrate.
The success of our recent academy openings in Moscow, Dubai and Istanbul makes me confident that our new academy in Milan will turn out to be very successful very soon too, and I am sure that with this we have created something really beautiful for Italy, and even more so for the city of Milan.
You know that I’m Italian. The special thing with this academy is that it will be Italian in the best sense of the word, led by Davide Comaschi, an Italian chef who has collected a great experience in recent years - this excellence and creativity are difficult to find and really valuable for us. In addition, it will be the first academy to develop recipes for artisanal gelato with real Belgian chocolate.
I am convinced that this is only the start. Others may view Italy as a mature market and a difficult one, where you don’t need to invest, but I believe that this is the right moment to invest, and I am sure that the academy will be a way to draw a promising future for chocolate in Italy."
"The success of our recent academy openings in Moscow, Dubai, and Istanbul makes me confident that our new academy in Milan will turn out to be very successful very soon too. And I am sure that with this we have created something really beautiful for Italy, and even more so for the city of Milan."
The ChocoGelato lab develops artisanal ice cream with real chocolate
Go to Milan to learn all about chocolate … and chocogelato
The CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center in Milan is a teaching and training center for professionals of all levels and all Barry Callebaut customers who are interested in improving their chocolate skills or learning new techniques, trends and recipes for the Italian market. In addition, the academy will act as the global center of excellence for chocolate gelato (artisanal chocolate ice cream) and hosts the first ChocoGelato Lab, dedicated to this truly Italian craftsmanship.
Davide Comaschi’s team at the new academy consists of Cacao Barry chef Alberto Simionato (left) and gelato expert Paolo Cappellini (right).
As Academy head Davide Comaschi explains: “Milan has become the Italian capital of chocolate in recent years. It is in fact the city where the Salon du Chocolat, the Italian edition of the prestigious Parisian kermesse, takes place, and the place chosen by an undisputed market leader as the Barry Callebaut group to host its 20th CHOCOLATE ACADEMY center, the first in Italy.”
In honor of the occasion, Barry Callebaut’s chefs from all over the world met in Milan to prepare a unique 20-story-cake and everyone attending the event was only too happy to help making the sweet delight disappear very quickly.
"Milan has become the Italian capital of chocolate in recent years - and the place to chose by the Barry Callebaut Group to host its 20th CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ center."
Barry Callebaut manages a total of 20 CHOCOLATE ACADEMY centers all over the world
Chocolate Academies are centers of excellence in chocolate
Including the recently inaugurated center in Milan, Barry Callebaut manages a total of 20 CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™centers all over the world. A specialized Beverage Academy center forms also part of the mix. The academies act as centres of excellence where Barry Callebaut concentrates chocolate knowledge in order to drive innovation and facilitate partnerships with artisans. They provide venues for training and customer demonstrations focusing on all aspects of Chocolate work and across all trade sectors from hotels, restaurants and catering (Horeca) to Pastry, Bakery and Chocolatiers. Last but not least, they offer an excellent forum for customer dialogue through seminars and customer focus groups.