British Craft Chocolate Competition 2026 – Winners

The International Chocolate Awards is pleased to announce the Winners of the 2026 British Craft Chocolate Competition, which was judged remotely during April 2026.

This was our third competition entirely devoted to British craft chocolate makers working from bean-to-bar and to chocolatiers using origin traceable chocolate. The competition celebrates British chocolate artisans who respect the flavour, origin and sourcing of the cacao in their chocolate. The competition included all categories of products from plain and flavoured bars to filled chocolates and ganaches, plus craft cocoa powder and cocoa butter.

The winners were announced live at the Show/Colat Festival in Bordeaux, France on Saturday, 2nd May at 16:00 by our co-founders Monica Meschini and Martin Christy.

Winners will go directly to the International Chocolate Awards 2026 World Final.

Judges

The judging panel for this competition included judges from the UK, Italy and France, along with some of our IICCT alumni, other specialists from the local area and members of our international Grand Jury panel.

All judging was anonymised, included at the Grand Jury final session, where Golds, Silver and Bronze prizes were awarded by private voting according to the Grand Jury rules.

All Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in this competition are eligible to enter the World Final later in 2026.

Prizes

The winners of the 2026 British Craft Chocolate Competition are:

(Prizes are shown in score order for each medal)


Tablettes D’Origine/Noir

Micro-batch - Tablettes de chocolat noir nature/d'origine

Gold: Duffy's  (United Kingdom) - Nicaragua Amarillo 72% (89.8) (**)

+ Gold: Chocolate Maker

Silver: Duffy's  (United Kingdom) - Honduras Indio Rojo 72% (88.4) (**)

Tablettes de chocolat noir nature/d'origine % élevé (85 % et plus)

Gold: Mayoy cacao  (United Kingdom) - Canoabo 85% Cacao (89.0) (**)

+ Gold: Chocolate Maker

Tablettes de chocolat noir nature/d'origine 100 %

Gold: Mayoy cacao  (United Kingdom) - Chuao 100% Cacao (89.5) (**)

+ Gold: Chocolate Maker

Micro-batch - Tablettes de chocolat au lait nature/d'origine

Gold: Duffy's  (United Kingdom) - Nicaragua Oh Juno 45% milk (89.2) (**)

+ Gold: Chocolate Maker

Silver: Chocolate Tree  (United Kingdom) - Peru Selva Dark Milk 60% (88.2) (**)

+ Gold: Organic

+ Gold: Direct Traded

Bronze: Dormouse Chocolates  (United Kingdom) - 55% Milk Hacienda La Carrera (86.1) (**)

Bronze: Good Cocoa Bean  (United Kingdom) - 50% Dark Milk (85.8) (**)

Bronze: Pump Street Chocolate  (United Kingdom) - Haiti 60% Dark Milk Chocolate Bar (85.6) (**)

Tablettes de chocolat alternative sucres

Bronze: Cococaravan  (United Kingdom) - 75 % Guayaquil - Hacienda Victoria (86.5) (**)

Tablettes de chocolat alternative avec substituts de lait

Silver: Solkiki Chocolatemaker  (United Kingdom) - Esmeraldas Cashew Milk 53 (88.7) (**)


Tablettes Aromatisées

Tablettes de chocolat noir avec infusion ou arôme

Gold: Explore Chocolate  (United Kingdom) - Mexico 70% — Virgin Oak (Lindores Abbey) (89.8) (**)

+ Special: Local ingredients

Silver: Explore Chocolate  (United Kingdom) - Belize 70% Dark Chocolate — Caol Ila 17 (87.6) (**)

Tablettes de chocolat noir avec inclusions ou morceaux

Bronze: Dormouse Chocolates  (United Kingdom) - Hacienda La Carrera Dark with Sourdough (86.1) (**)

Tablettes de chocolat au lait avec infusion ou arôme

Gold: Chocolate Tree  (United Kingdom) - Nordic Berries Milk 50% (90.0) (**)

+ Special: Organic

Silver: Pump Street Chocolate  (United Kingdom) - Madagascar & Sea Salt 55% Milk Bar (88.7) (**)


Ganaches, palets, pralines avec ganache, truffes

Ganaches ou truffes au chocolat noir non aromatisées

Silver: Highland Chocolatier  (United Kingdom) - The Velvet Truffle – Dark (87.4)

Ganaches ou truffes de chocolat noir aromatisées

Gold: Highland Chocolatier  (United Kingdom) - The Velvet Truffle – Dark Ginger (89.5)

+ Special: Naked

Ganaches ou truffes au chocolat au lait

Bronze: Terroir Artisanal Chocolates Ltd  (United Kingdom) - Tonka Bean, Puxuri & Amburana (86.6)

Ganaches ou truffes au chocolat blanc

Silver: Highland Chocolatier  (United Kingdom) - Raspberry & Heather Honey Velvet Truffle (87.7)

Ganaches ou truffes utilisant du chocolat noir/au lait/blanc pour l'enrobage et la garniture

Bronze: Terroir Artisanal Chocolates Ltd  (United Kingdom) - Honey & Black Sesame (86.0)


Fruits secs

Dragées/ fruits secs entiers enrobés au chocolat lait

Gold: Cococaravan  (United Kingdom) - Chocolate Tamari Almonds (90.0) (**)

+ Special: Alternate vegan milk


(*)  Declared chocolate maker for private label bars.

(**) Winner has declared the product is made with their own bean-to-bar chocolate or couverture.