Patric Chocolate is a bean-to-bar, craft-chocolate manufacturer and chocolate consulting firm founded in 2006 by Alan Patrick McClure (born November, 1978). McClure remains owner and head of chocolate research and development at Patric Chocolate, as well as consultant to the food and beverage industry through Patric Food & Beverage Development.
After founding Patric Chocolate, McClure sold his first chocolate, the 70% Sambirano Valley single-origin bar, in July 2007.[1] The company grew over the next eight years, managing to remain in operation during the Great Recession, and expanded the availability of its products through increased production, distribution, and online sales.[1] After years of growth and accolades, founder Alan McClure made the decision to return to graduate school, while continuing to operate Patric Chocolate, to improve the scientific foundation of the company's research & development approach.[2] Thus, in 2014 McClure began his study in the sciences, including chocolate science, flavor chemistry and sensory analysis, and in September 2020 successfully defended his chocolate-focused doctoral research, earning him a PhD in Food Science from the University of Missouri, where he conducted research in the Milton Bailey Flavor Chemistry Laboratory and in conjunction with the Sensory Evaluation Center[3] of Penn State. McClure's research made use of analytical flavor chemistry, sensory analysis, experimental design, and current methods of statistical learning and data visualization, to better understand the unique bitterness of chocolate, how it changes with cacao roasting, and its relationship to chocolate consumer perceptions and preferences. Upon graduation, McClure announced the expansion of the craft-food consulting component of Patric Chocolate in to include other fermentation-based foods, ingredient and product development.[1] This new division, Patric Food & Beverage Development,[4] is focused on food and beverage product development, product and process optimization, and science-based technical solutions.[5]
Chocolate bars and other products
Patric Chocolate bars are handcrafted from cocoa beans sourced directly from farms or cooperatives. Over the years, the company's line has included more than thirty different bean-to-bar chocolate bars, a variety of house-made confections, chocolate beverages, chocolate bakery items, and many other chocolate products. Patric Chocolate has always crafted its premium chocolate from bean-to-bar while incorporating many practices over time that emphasize sustainability, such as sourcing mostly certified organic ingredients, purchasing cacao for higher than conventional prices, and placing an emphasis on recycling and renewable energy use.[6]
Awards and features
As of 2021, Patric Chocolate has won a total of twenty-six Good Food Awards, more than any other entrant in any category, an achievement first celebrated publicly at the 10th annual Good Food Awards ceremony in 2020.[7] This decade-long winning streak led to McClure's swift announcement of the retirement of Patric Chocolate from the awards in order to allow for more collaborative and less competitive relationships with other chocolate and food companies.[1] Patric Chocolate's Good Food Award wins (below) remain a record:
2020 Winners: 67% Madagascar, 67% Piura Peru, Browned Butter Bar.
2019 Winners: 75% Madagascar, Triple Ginger.
2018 Winners: 67% Madagascar, 70% Signature Blend, The Salty Cow, Browned Butter Bar.
2017 Winners: Piura Dark Milk, Sweet & Sassy.
2016 Winners: Browned Butter Bar, Triple Ginger, Red Coconut Curry.
2015 Winners: 67% Madagascar, Black Licorice Bar, PBJ OMG, Red Coconut Curry.
2014 Winners: 70% Signature Blend, Mocha OMG, Mint CRUNCH.
In 2017, Zagat proclaimed that Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate "makes some of the best chocolate bars in the world" which "are in high demand."[8]
In December 2015, The New York Times conducted a taste test of chocolate bars made from scratch. Patric Chocolate's 67% Madagascar bar was placed in the #2 spot of only 8 bars chosen as "most impressive."[9]
In September 2013, Patric Chocolate won two of only seven awards given for bean-to-bar chocolate products at the Northwest Chocolate Festival, including a gold for the In-NIB-itable Bar in the inclusion category, and a Silver for the 67% Madagascar in the plain chocolate category.[10]
In October 2013, Patric Chocolate won six prizes in the Americas arm of the International Chocolate Awards: two golds and four silvers for the 67% Madagascar, 67% Piura, and Mocha OMG.[11]
In October 2013, Patric Chocolate won two prizes in the World Finals of the International Chocolate Awards for the 67% Madagascar and 67% Piura dark chocolate bars.[12]
Patric Chocolate was also featured in Forbes' list of 10 Truly Artisanal Foods to Try Now[13] and Food & Wine's article Taste's to Try: Best New American Chocolate[14]
Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form for at least 5,300 years starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador and later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, also called cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cocoa trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Greater London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.
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White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids. It is pale ivory in color, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk, dark, and other chocolates. It is solid at room temperature because the melting point of cocoa butter, the only white cocoa bean component, is 35 °C (95 °F).
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A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectioneries from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. They are pastry chefs or confectioners who specialize in chocolate and making chocolate candies. Chocolatiers work artisanally with ready-made chocolate mass and are therefore distinct from industrial chocolate makers.
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Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods mixed with fat and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Amano Artisan Chocolate is an American bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer based in Orem, Utah.
Beyond Good, formerly known as Madécasse, is a Brooklyn-based chocolate and vanilla company. It was established in 2006 by Brett Beach and Tim McCollum. The company sells a range of single-origin chocolate bars and vanilla products sourced from the island of Madagascar. All of their cocoa is certified direct trade and is sourced directly from Malagasy and Ugandan cocoa farmers. For several years, Beyond Good worked with a local chocolate producer in Antananarivo before moving its production facility to Madagascar and Europe.
Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik.
Ruby chocolate is a style or distinct variety of chocolate that is pink or purple in colour. Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company, introduced it as a distinct product on 5 September 2017 after beginning development of their product in 2004. It has a pink color, and Barry Callebaut says it is a fourth natural type of chocolate. Some other industry experts have said that some cacao pods are naturally pink or purple in colour, and thus pink chocolate has been available before.
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