Best Artisan Chocolate and Cocoa Derivatives Contest has winners from different integration regions of Pará

The municipality of Santa Bárbara do Pará was the grand winner of the intense fine chocolate category in the Best Artisan Chocolate and Cocoa Derivatives Contest, held during the International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival – Chocolate Xingu, in Altamira. The award was won by the business Bada Chocolateria, with the chocolate “Campo do Fernandão.”

The event, which runs until this Sunday (29), is promoted by the Government of Pará, through the Secretary of Agricultural Development and Fisheries (Sedap), in partnership with the City Hall of Altamira. The award ceremony took place on Saturday night (28), at the Vilmar Soares Events Center.

In addition to Santa Bárbara, the intense fine chocolate category awarded:

- 2nd place: Kakao Blumenn, from Brasil Novo (Xingu Region)
- 3rd place: Cacau Yeshua Chocolates, from Igarapé-Miri (Baixo Tocantins)

The contest was coordinated by the Center for the Valorization of Bioactive Compounds of the Amazon (CVACBA), from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), located in the Guamá Science and Technology Park.

New categories value derivatives

For the first time, the contest included the categories of derived beverages and derived products. The winners were:

- Derived beverages: Assurini Cacau (Altamira), with cumaru cocktail
- Derived products: Belamazônia (Vitória do Xingu), with banana candy coated in 70% chocolate

Recognition of regional work

Entrepreneur Fernanda Sahaba, from Bada Chocolateria, celebrated the victory and explained that the name of the awarded chocolate is a tribute to “Campo do Fernandão,” one of the tourist spots in the Chicano Colony, the community where the business is located.

“Each bar carries names of local tourist spots. Campo do Fernandão represents 70% cocoa, just like the football that is strong and intense there. We are very happy to achieve this recognition right here, in Transamazônica, which is a land of excellent producers,” she declared.

Fernanda also dedicated the award to her family and the producers of Baixo Tocantins. “We believe in our philosophy of taking care of the cocoa, and now we are reaping the fruits of this work.”

Quality recognized

The festival coordinator from Sedap, Ivaldo Santana, highlighted that the contest once again reinforced the quality of Pará products. “We congratulate the winners and also all the participants. Each year, we notice an advancement in the excellence of the chocolate and derivatives produced in different regions of the state,” he stated.

Other awardees

- Rosa Chocolate (Medicilândia): categories Intense Artisan Chocolate and Milk Chocolate (2nd and 3rd places)
- Mulher do Cacau (Pacajá): derived beverage category
- Pomar do Xingu (Altamira): derived beverage category
Amer Derivados do Cacau (Parauapebas): derived products category – dragee Brazil nuts
- Elka Cacau (Barcarena): derived products category – cacaupuccino

The Chocolate Xingu Festival is part of the official event calendar of the sector and is one of the most important showcases for entrepreneurs in the cocoa chain in the Amazon.