English
On the 1st day I go with group 1 to the factory of Cargill.nl near Zaandam see the locations at: https://www.cargill.nl/en/locations It is 21 February 2018, the 1st day of the 5 day Chocoa Festival. Of which the 21 to the 23rd is planned for professionals and the 24th and 25th for chocolate consumers who want to visit the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam to see and meet the chocolate makers, products and their products. Smell, taste, feel and experience chocolate as a tasteful sensation. The fact that many makers come together in Amsterdam in Europe is a fact. Beurs van Berlage
I meet Armand Babacar Dieng Omatuku, who lives in Seatle US and works for 6000 farmers in the Congo. I get his green card with a nice logo and the name MAVUNO and we talk in English about the world of Chocolate, Africa, opportunities and opportunities, but also the pitfalls and difficulties for import, export, production and organizing a company . He tells me that he has just graduated for 6 months and that he has been on Harvard. On his ticket, Chief Financial Officer, and in the bus from the Beurs van Berlage to Wormer he tells me about his study time, projects he worked for in Los Angelos, but also about his ambitions for the country Congo and the love for chocolate. Around 14:00 we arrive in Wormer and starts a tour of the factory with a free drink at a table with a screen presentation and the professionals who work daily to make chocolate pre-products. It seems that this factory supplies more than 150 varieties as final product to chocolate manufacturers. After the presentation we get a white coat, a helmet, glasses and earplugs, but also work shoes with steel noses to safely walk through the factory halls and see the production process. It is forbidden to photograph, but the selfie you see below is made after the tour when we take our jewelry (I take my smartwatch, mobile phone and wallet) out of a safe. see the photoalbum
We walk about 1 hour through the factory and see the machines, the stories about the heat and the pressure, the different stages of fermentation and we finally see the packaging and packing on a pallet in plastick. At the end of the tour we get a hot chocolate from the machine, which gives this experience a delicious warm finish, including a bag with some information about these productions of chocolate. We are still in the hall for a while, after enjoying with a hot chocolate, Jinek is on the TV and I speak with 2 ladies from Croatia from the factory Kendis / Kras - or was it from Czech Republic ??? At the same time I receive a ticket from Justiniano Suarez L. Chocolate manufacturer SUAGU from Colombia, A success story about beautiful beans, nice chocolates and an export that even goes by plane to the Czech Republic every month. 40 Tons of chocolate per year for and by beans from Colombia
Just at the end of this tour I come into contact with Peter H. Schoenaker, the maker of ChocoladeBlog, peterschocolade.blogspot.com, a fascinating Dutchman from Amersfoort who mainly focuses on Opera, Oratorio (An oratorio is an extensive vocal work with a mostly spiritual content for orchestra, vocal soloists and choir, in which a narrator often becomes the carrier of the action.) and Songs, ... We go back by bus to Amsterdam and I am sitting the way back next to Peter, we talk passionately about the world of Chocola, his fascination for this delicacy and the fun and crazy moments he has made as a blogger about worldly luxury and delicacy, We discuss the EU legislation and the problems for importers from Africa, but we also talk about the BREXIT, ... time flies by talking but unfortunately we get into a terrible long traffic jam, cars stand still for more than 40 minutes The bus driver tries to turn around, then the cars suddenly start moving again, then we are stopped for 10 minutes again, the bus eventually turns and the driver tries to drive in the direction of Sloterdijk to return more quickly to the Beurs van Berlage, .. but this traffic also drives very slowly. Eventually we walk 10 minutes walk from Sloterdijk and with the group we take the train back to Amsterdam, I walk with Peter ahead and we grab a sprinter together. Because I had left my coat, I had to return, At the Beurs van Berlage I speak with Balu M Balasubramanian from CocoaTown. The creators of
Around 7 pm I am on the train to Alkmaar. The first day I went with group 1 to the factory of Cargill.nl near Zaandam
see the locations at : https://www.cargill.nl/en/locations
Cargill B.V.Eenhoornweg 121531 ME Wormer
The Netherlands Tel +31 (0)75 646 61 61 Fax +31 (0)75 621 25 71
CHOCOA FESTIVAL 24-25 FEB 2018
GOOD COCOA, BETTER CHOCOLATE
The 6th edition of Chocoa will take place from 21 until 25 February 2018 in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Chocoa brings together stakeholders from the entire supply chain, from cocoa farmers to chocolate consumers. Our objective is to increase the market for ‘good cocoa and better chocolate’.
See the details of the business programme and the brochure of Chocoa 2018 here.
De 6e editie van Chocoa vindt plaats van 21 t/m 25 februari 2018 in Amsterdam. Chocoa brengt aandeelhouders uit de cacao en chocolade industrie samen, van cacao boeren tot chocolade liefhebbers. Ons doel is om de markt voor goede cacao en betere chocolade te vergroten. In totaal bevat Chocoa 150 stands en verwelkomen we 10.000 bezoekers uit de hele wereld.