Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition, 2025

Location: Florence, Italy
Closing date: 26 février 2025
Judging dates: 1 Mar 2025 – 4 Mar 2025

Eligible countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Monaco, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, African chocolatiers, Middle Eastern chocolatiers

The Italian/Mediterranean Chocolatier Competition brings together cultures and chocolate companies sharing the wider influence and ingredients of the Mediterranean Sea. This competition celebrates the craft of chocolatiers and chocolate companies who create filled chocolates, truffles, ganaches, pralines, caramels, fondants, enrobed fruits and nuts and spreads made from chocolate couverture or from their own bean-to-bar chocolate. The competition also includes flavoured chocolate bars made from chocolate couverture.

Bean-to-bar chocolate makers of plain/origin and flavored bars can also participate in the European, Middle Eastern and African Bean-to-Bar Competition with no additional registration fee held in: Romania in April 2025.

Judging in Florence, Italy 1-4 March 2025

This year the Italian/Mediterranean Craft Chocolatier Competition will again be judged in-person in our usual pre-pandemic format. Samples must be received before the judging begins, to be included and should arrive by 27 February latest.

Winners of the competition will pass through to the World Final, which will be held in October-November 2025.

Cacao sourcing and origin traceability

The International Chocolate Awards is committed to supporting economically, socially and environmentally sustainable cacao farming where farmers are paid a reasonable price that reflects the work that goes into growing fine cacao. We also believe that the chocolate with the best flavor profiles comes from directly sourced fine cacao.

As a result, all entrants must provide details of the cacao origin used in their dark and milk chocolate entries, including chocolatiers. These details are given confidentially if preferred. White chocolate and cocoa butter are currently excluded from these requirements, except for unflavoured white chocolate products.

By ‘origin,’ we mean a known region, area, district, or farm recognized as a source of fine cacao. If the origin is not a single farm or cooperative, entrants must specify the cacao sources within the origin. Blends are acceptable if they use no more than three different named origins, including cooperatives, post-harvest centres, commercial farmers, research stations, or individual farms. We do not accept entries where the only specified origin is the cacao-growing country, except for smaller cacao-producing countries (under 4,000 tonnes per year).

These rules apply to all chocolate used in competition entries, including filled chocolates, spreads, and drinking chocolate. Products made with commercial couverture chocolate without a stated cacao origin are not eligible to enter. Details of the origin must be obtained from the chocolate maker or supplier if the entrant is not the chocolate maker.

For full details, please refer to our competition rules.

Judging scores and flavor profiles

All entries will receive comprehensive feedback from our judging system, including the overall product score and standardised feedback statements for all products. We use our advanced interactive evaluation system for judging, which is based on the IICCT flavor profiling system. Scores are weighted to align with specialty coffee scores. Scores will be published on our website for all Grand Jury Finalists and Winners.

Eligibility

This competition judges flavoured and filled bars made from chocolate couverture and truffles, ganaches, pralines, caramels, fondants, enrobed fruits and nuts, and spreads made from chocolate couverture or bean-to-bar chocolate.

The competition is open to all companies with their main business or head office in the countries listed, including all Middle Eastern and African companies.

All chocolate used in all entries in this competition must be made from cacao with a declared and traceable source. Details of the source must be provided when entering each product and will remain confidential. For products made with couverture, details must be obtained from the chocolate maker or supplier.

Restaurants, hotels, and chefs may enter provided their products follow the normal rules of the International Chocolate Awards and our available to consumers as part of a hospitality service.

This is a Chocolatier competition for all categories EXCEPT for Plain/origin and Flavoured dark, milk and white bars made by Bean-to-Bar chocolate makers. These products are judged at the regional Bean-to-Bar competition, held in: Romania.

The admission fee for this competition is EUR €70 and the fee for each entry is EUR €65. Prices will be converted into local currency by your credit card company, if required.