A World of Chocolate: Lindt Home of Chocolate opens near Zurich

If you love chocolate then you are about to be in heaven. If you love Switzerland, this is the best reason to travel there.

Starting in 2020, the Lindt Chocolate Competence Foundation invites small and large guests to take part in a journey of discovery into the wonderful world of chocolate. Planned and designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER, the Lindt Chocolate Tour provides information on the origins, history and production of the mouth-watering delicacy, and involves all the senses in an exhibition area covering 1500 square metres.

The museum exhibition is located in the Lindt Home of Chocolate, a new building by Swiss architects Christ & Gantenbein at the headquarters of Lindt & Sprüngli in Kilchberg near Zurich. The world’s highest, free-standing chocolate fountain in the foyer of the museum serves as the prelude to the world of chocolate. It is 9.30 metres high and circulates 1000 litres of liquid chocolate, flowing from a large, hovering wire whip down into a Lindor ball on the ground.

Borne along by the aroma of chocolate, visitors proceed on a tour of discovery on the first floor of the building. Sounds, smells, media stations and visitor-participation systems allow them to become part of the different scenarios. Designed individually, each exhibition room communicates through the senses and with information to convey an aspect of the world of chocolate.

To start, visitors travel to a cocoa plantation in Ghana where they learn everything about the cultivation, harvesting, fermentation and drying of cocoa beans – as well as about the quality assurance process. Being all about the 5,000 years history of chocolate, the “Chocolate History” room features a digitally animated 360-degree panorama picture and has a round media table in the middle. It shows how the preparation and consumption of chocolate has changed over the centuries. How Switzerland became the “home of chocolate” is conveyed in the “Swiss Pioneers” room. The first chocolate factory was opened in Vevey as early as 1819. The all-round, hand-painted Swiss panorama is an invitation to make one’s own discoveries.

The subsequent time tunnel “From Past to Present” illustrates the changes in the manufacture and marketing of Swiss chocolate from 1900 until the year 2000. And how does chocolate production function today? Visitors find this out in the “Production” room, which, with its smooth, shiny surfaces, is based on an actual factory. In this room, three chocolate springs, where the different composition of white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate can be tasted are a special attraction – and not only for young visitors.

The darkened adjacent room with the name “Chocolate Cosmos“, which is surrounded by an atmospheric projection of stars, finally places chocolate as a product in a global context before visitors are taken to the “Chocolate Heaven” where they can taste a sample of Lindt products. Large-format Lindor balls supplement the narrative space. They are designed as photo booths.

Finally, the visitors cross a bridge over the foyer of the building to reach the “Innovation Lab“, which opens out towards the light-filled interior. The exhibition architecture takes up the architecture of the building. This area concerns some questions about the future: Can there be chocolate without cocoa trees? How is artificial intelligence changing the production of chocolate? And can chocolate be made in a carbon-neutral manner? As soon as the visitor approaches, the initially opaque glass of the display case becomes transparent and reveals explanatory films and selected exhibits, including a replicated cell culture.

The heart of the “Innovation Lab” is a real testing system, the entire interior of which can be seen. Specialists use this system to develop new chocolate creations. Augmented animation enables an X-ray view into the insides of the machines. The Chocolate Tour ends with a chocolate souvenir: A small bar of chocolate from the testing system, packaged in a golden ball, rolls through a lovingly designed marble run before it falls into the hands of the visitor.

The Lindt Home of Chocolate is open from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday to Sunday. Inquiries for guided tours and workshops, in which it is possible to design one’s own chocolate creations, can be submitted at: https://www.lindt-home-of-chocolate.com/en/tickets-and-prices/

 

 

TASTY CREATIONS: The 6 Best Artisan Chocolate Bars of the Year for Chocolate Lovers

Each year the International Chocolate Salon tastes scores of artisan chocolate bars from around the world. The goal is to discover the Best Chocolate Bars of the Year. Even though this has been a challenging time due to COVID-19, the judges were able to make their choices, mostly because they say that the bar selections were so amazing.

If you have a taste for great chocolate, and possibly even for a little luxurious edible gold on top of it, then these 6 top-ranked award-winning bars should be on the top of your list.


The 6 Best Artisan Chocolate Bars of the Year

GOLD MEDAL

  • Michael’s Chocolates Bourbon Caramel Pecan Barre

SILVER MEDAL

  • Panache Chocolatier Columbian Gold Bar
  • Wildwood Chocolate Honey Cardamom Caramel

BRONZE MEDAL

Baetz Chocolates Return of the Bison


HONORABLE MENTION

Michael’s Chocolates Hazelnut Crunch Bar
Delysia Chocolatier Wine & Cherries Chocolate Bark


 

2020 Chocolate Salon Ambassadors Honored for their Support of Artisan Chocolate

In honor of their support for and contribution to artisan chocolate during the Summer 2020 Virtual Chocolate Salon Panels, TasteTV and the International Chocolate SalonInternational Chocolate Salon has designated each of the panelists and moderators who participated as:

HONORARY CHOCOLATE SALON AMBASSADORS

We congratulate and thank each of them!

  • Amy Sherman food writer
  • Art Pollard of Amano Artisan Chocolate
  • Barbie Van Horn of Finding Fine Chocolate
  • Ben Glass of The Good Chocolate
  • Charly Kayle radio host and food writer
  • Cindy Wong Chen of China Live
  • David Gambill of Sonoma Chocolatiers
  • Elisia Otavi of Raphio Chocolate
  • Elyce Zahn of CocoTutti
  • Erin Andrews of Indi Chocolate
  • Joey Garcia author
  • Julie House of Panache Chocolatier
  • Karen Urbanek of Flying Noir
  • Kimberly Yang of Formosa Chocolates
  • Margaret King of Magnolia Chocolatier
  • Michael Benner of Michael’s Chocolates
  • Michael Poole of Hot Chocolat
  • Phillip Ashley Rix of Phillip Ashley Chocolates
  • Robert Bowden of Vivere Chocolates
  • Seth Bain of the Confectionist
  • Syovata Edari of CocoVaa Chocolatier
  • Tonet Tibay of Marti Chocolatt
  • Wendy Lieu of Socola Chocolatier

 

Virtual CHOCOLATE SALON Panel: In Conversation with Bean to Bar Chocolatiers

TasteTV & the International Chocolate Salon in conversation with award-winning Bean to Bar Chocolatiers about their creative inspirations & business challenges, including tips for great chocolate, flavor profiles, travels, and tips for success. Discover and support these great artisans!

Featuring Amano Artisan Chocolate, Indi Chocolate, The Good Chocolate, and moderator Barbie Van Horn of Finding Fine Chocolate.

WATCH THE VIDEO FROM THE PANEL


 

Virtual Chocolate Salon Panel: In Conversation with Asian-American Chocolatiers

TasteTV & the International Chocolate Salon in conversation with award-winning Asian-American Chocolatiers about their creative inspirations & business challenges, including tips for great chocolate, flavor profiles, travels, and tips for success. Discover and support these great artisans!

Featuring panelists such as Tonet Tibay of Marti Chocolatt, Kimberly Yang of Formosa Chocolates, Wendy Lieu of Socola Chocolatier, Elisia Otavi of Raphio Chocolate, and moderator Cindy Wong Chen of China Live

Watch the video from the panel here.

THE BEST: Picks for Top Artisan Jerky of 2020