Hernou Appointed New Belgian Chocolate Ambassador for Callebaut

11 Feb 2014 --- Peter Hernou is the new Belgian Chocolate Ambassador for Callebaut. The company announced the news during the opening night of the Salon Du Chocolat at Tour & Taxis in Brussels. The ‘Latte Art’ world champion will employ his expertise in the new range of ‘Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate’, high quality hot chocolate for the catering sector based on Belgian chocolate callets in six different flavors.

The collaboration between Peter Hernou and Callebaut is a response to increasing consumer demand for ‘genuine hot chocolate’.

Peter Hernou: “I want to show Belgian chocolate professionals that coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven”, Peter Hernou explains as the brand new Chocolate Ambassador for Callebaut. Callebaut has been producing chocolate, from bean to chocolate, in the heart of Belgium since 1911, for chocolatiers, pastry chefs and other artisan chocolate processors. The collaboration with Peter Hernou is a response to increasing consumer demand for ‘genuine’ hot chocolate, using chocolate instead of cocoa powder. Chocolate contains more cocoa butter than cocoa powders, which means that drinks made from chocolate offer a richer and fuller flavor.”

Peter Hernou is an international, independent consultant and triple Belgian and world ‘Latte Art’ champion, the art of creating decorative designs in the milky foam added to a cappuccino to optimally serve the flavor. He is also the author of the ‘Best in the World Coffee Book *Latte Arte*’, has trained many champions and sits on the panel of international competitions. Being the ultimate Belgian and international reference for coffee, he searches the world for the best coffee plantations, plants and shops for new flavors and quality products. “Just like Callebaut, I have a passion for quality products with a full, aromatic flavor”, Hernou reveals. “Callebaut is one of the rare remaining chocolate manufacturers that selects, roasts and grinds cocoa beans itself to produce a unique chocolate mass and supplies the necessary knowledge, a philosophy that I can totally identify with. It is a philosophy that I constantly strive to communicate during the many training courses that we provide.”

The Callebaut Ambassadors Club is an association of internationally renowned culinary professionals who consider it their mission to communicate their expertise on chocolate and the associated processing techniques to professionals all over the world. The club counts over 150 international members.

Peter Hernou is the latest member of the Belgian branch of the Ambassadors Club. Members include three-star chefs Peter Goossens and Geert Van Hecke, chef Lieven Lootens, chocolatiers David Maenhout and Bart Van Cauwenberghe, pastry chef Marc Ducobu and pastry chef-chocolatier Jean-Philippe Darcis. The Callebaut chocolate ambassadors each possess their own expertise that they share with chocolate professionals during trade fairs and special courses, demonstrations and seminars and demonstrate new product developments with Callebaut chocolate.

Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate: a cup of genuine Belgian hot chocolate Peter Hernou will primarily employ his expertise in the new ‘Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate’ range. This new range of individually packaged Belgian chocolate callets in six different flavors was announced by Callebaut in November 2013 as the solution to increasing customer demand for a ‘genuine’ cup of hot chocolate. Consumers themselves enjoy the ritual of adding and stirring the chocolate into the milk. The same phenomenon already appeared in the coffee and tea categories, in which we have seen the successful introduction of more luxury, premium experiences in recent years.

The complete ‘Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate’ concept consists of a luxury ‘Hot Chocolate Treasure Chest’ for presenting the product to the consumer, sachets of genuine Belgian chocolate callets in six different flavors, a heat-proof Callebaut glass and a small whisk.

The ‘Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate’ callets are produced in Wieze, where Callebaut has been making chocolate for chocolatiers, pastry chefs and other artisanal chocolate processors for over a hundred years. Callebaut is one of the rare remaining chocolate manufacturers that selects, roasts and grinds cocoa beans itself to produce a unique, secret recipe chocolate mass - the main ingredient for chocolate couverture. With its ‘Finest Belgian Hot Chocolate’ Callebaut combines all its knowledge and love of chocolate in your cup of genuine hot chocolate.