VALRHONA FOUNDATION

As part of our CAMBIOS project on our El Pedregal plantation in Venezuela, we tested the impact of a rich ecosystem on the development of Porcelana cocoa trees between 2008 and 2011, in partnership with experts from the Jardin Botanique de Merida. Today, we are going even further with Cacao Forest, creating sustainable cultivation models through growing cocoa trees alongside other types of tree.

Today, the Cacao Forest team consists of CIRAD, Isara, Terra Isara, TFT, Valrhona, AlterEco, Weiss, and Révillon. We draw on our varied expertises to create new agricultural models in the cocoa sector. We are concentrating research on three major cocoa growing regions: the Caribbean (the Dominican Republic), South America (Peru), and Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Madagascar). The project launched in the Dominican Republic in 2015. Activities will kick off in Peru in 2017.

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In 2017, the Paul Bocuse Foundation and Fondation Valrhona teamed up to start the Graines de Chef program to offer career opportunities in pastry-making to young people aged 16-25 who are struggling in school or undergoing a transition. The youths are selected at an orientation day and then provided four months of one-on-one support that helps them explore, experiment and experience the profession through field trips, pastry-making workshops and internships. After that, if they show a desire to continue and have found a training mentor, the youths are given support during their year-long vocational certification course (CAP).

The project is part of our Live Long Gastronomy program that provides career guidance. We are using our expertise in gastronomy to pass on our know-how to today’s artisans and inspire the pastry chefs of tomorrow. In 2017, we trained 10 budding pastry chefs: Six of them chose this path and are enrolled in a CAP pastry-making certification course. Our customers are helping by giving them internships.