The Story
Raw Chocolate Controversy Spawns Action Toward Industry Standards and Recipe Contest
Raw Chefs, Leaders and Educators Participate in 3rd Gourmet RAW Cacao Chef-Off in Free Live Streaming Video Pre-event to Living Light Culinary Arts Institute’s Chef Showcase
FORT BRAGG, NYC, LOS ANGELES—Affectionately known as the “Food of the Gods” by Mayans and Aztecs, cacao has become a favorite in the thriving multi-million dollar raw and organic foods industry. Raw cacao is distinct from other chocolates because it is meant to be processed at temperatures below 118°F to protect its nutritional value.
This burgeoning raw foods industry was hit by shockwaves this winter when it was discovered most if not all Raw Cacao Powder & Butter sold at a premium worldwide was mislabeled as ‘raw’ when in fact it had been subjected to temperatures from 200°F to 400°F. The resulting controversy has led to two radical changes in the industry: the emergence of a new Truly RAW product (from Bali, Indonesia), and growing support for a 3rd party Raw certifier, similar to Organic certifiers.
To support awareness, Best of Raw, Raw Foodists and fans of Raw Cacao have banded together to showcase the new Bali Cacao in a third Gourmet Recipe Contest that the public can watch LIVE via Streaming Video from host and sponsor Living Light Culinary Arts Institute‘s Chef Showcase Series! The Best of Raw Cacao Judging will be filmed and streamed so that people can see the judges tasting the cacao, in this free pre-event to the Chef Showcase which begins the following day. People who wish to watch can register here for all events including the free Best of Raw Judging.
Three years ago after uncovering questionable claims being made in the RAW industry around cacao processing, Big Tree Farms located in Bali, Indonesia took on a 3 year project to build custom machinery that produces truly raw cacao powder and butter always under 118°F. The first company to bring these innovative products to the US markets is Nevada City distributor Earth Family Foods/Earth Circle Organics, recently joined by Santa Monica-based Essential Living Foods to increase awareness and provide Big Tree’s raw cacao powder & butter to consumers, manufacturers and retailers who demand “truly raw” foods.
Because of the controversial information, new products and reshuffling in the industry, consumers have been left a bit confused as to whose powder and butter is actually raw while manufacturers have been trying to make their recipes work with this new raw cacao, which has a unique flavor, closer to the slightly-bitter taste of a raw cacao bean than the “chocolatey” taste of roasted cacao powders. As a community service, the Best of Raw awards (www.bestofraw.net) founder Laura Fox created a Truly Raw Cacao Recipe Contest featuring famous raw Chefs & Judges to: (a) bring light to needs of the growing raw foods movement, (b) offer a fun way for raw chefs to explore the properties of the Bali raw cacao butter & powder, and (c) create a community dialogue around integrity and trust among consumers, manufacturers and distributors. Featuring renowned and “up and coming” raw chefs, the contest is generating a buzz of expectation and enthusiasm in the raw foods world.
The first www.bestofraw.net Contest took place at the LA Raw Bazaar Sunday, March 7, 11 am to 5 pm. The LA cacao contest was hosted by Non-profit organization Katharsis, Inc. Katharsis is committed to helping people develop skills for healthy living. Katharsis founder Baruch Inbar comments, “…the event will clarify the controversy with raw cacao products and bring together those companies that have integrity and transparency. Twenty two new recipes in four categories were tasted and judged by raw community leaders, restaurateurs and authors Roxanne Klein (“RAW”), Rod Rotondi (Leaf Cuisine) and Juliano (Planet Raw), plus Adidas Global Ambassador Rainbeau Mars, L.A. musician Daniel Krieger (The Luminaries), Chris Whitcoe (Vivapura) and radio hosts Jennifer Partridge (Our New Earth) and Steve Prussack (Raw Vegan Radio). The Show Favorite Award went to Colleen Cackowski (Cacaoski?) of Living Light Culinary Arts Institute for her gorgeous and delicious Pyramid Truffle.
In the 2nd Truly Raw Cacao Recipe Contest, Organic Avenue hosted the event. Judges included raw leaders raw food leaders Philip McCluskey (lovingraw.com), Dhrumil Purohit (www.welikeitraw.com), visionary leader Parashakti, Latham Thomas, Sylvia Clute (author :: Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality, 2010), Raw Chef Dan (Quintessence Restaurant), Vanessa Barg (Gnosis Chocolates), Mark Becker (Conscious Life Expo). David Kaplan (Transition Nutrition/Divine Organics) and Lisa Books Williams took the Show Favorite Award with their White Mulberry Mousse.
Cacao is not the only RAW product mired in controversy. Similar questions about accurate labeling continue to cloud products like “Raw Cashews,” “Raw Agave Syrup,” “Cold-Pressed Olive Oil,” and many others. This controversy has spurred a new effort to create a set of standards, similar to those used in USDA Organic certification. This would be a tremendous boost to customers of the burgeoning Raw Foods industry, which boasts hundreds of product lines in thousands of retail and online stores, with items ranging from dehydrated crackers, cookies and kale chips to candy bars, nutritional bars and truffles, to refrigerated kombuchas & prepared foods. A raw vegan trade association currently called Raw Alliance (www.rawalliance.org) is in a ‘pre-launch’ awareness campaign to address concerns about raw standards, third party verification and more. “As a Chef it would be great to have a stamp of approval from an official association to ensure product quality,” says Brian Lucas, Raw Vegan Chef and Educator.
WATCH EVENT VIDEOS BY RAW SANGHA’s ECHO ROBESON
BEFORE THE CONTEST AT ORGANIC AVENUE
