At the Academy of Chocolate (AoC) awards, all entered products are judged by judges who are either active in the chocolate / food industry or who are have strong connections to it. Each judge is approved by the AoC Awards Committee.

Judging Process

The Academy of Chocolate has a sophisticated judging process which is both rigorous and exacting and with both subjective and objective factors taken into account.

Each product is not ranked against others, but is scored on a range of attributes and criteria which ensures that the judging remains consistent throughout the process, with multiple respected and experienced judges evaluating each product individually.

The judging process is both rigorous and exacting. Each product is scored objectively based on a range of attributes, ensuring that the judging remains consistent. Multiple judges evaluate each product individually. Judges can review the product description and ingredients if necessary.

The quality of chocolate bars, filled/enrobed chocolates, chocolate drinks and spreads is measured based on a range of attributes that’s applicable to the corresponding category, such as:

• Aroma
• Texture
• Formulation
• Taste
• Execution
• Mouthfeel
• Aftertaste

 

Each attribute is marked using this ordinal scale:

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Poor
• Very Poor

These ratings are converted to numeric scores, to give a total score for each product. The score will then be converted into the corresponding award level. Long form feedback is given to entrants which is not formulaic, assembled from all judges long-form feedback.

Additionally, should in the unlikely case that there be any products where judges opinions remain wildly divided they will be both reviewed and rejudged by separate members of the awards committee. The judges for the rejudging will have the scores and comments from each judge in the initial round for review after initial assessment.

The rejudge will review the range of scores and comments from the initial judging and confirm the final award level.

Golden Bean, Tablet, and Bonbon Judging

For the selection of the Golden Bean, Golden Tablet, and Golden Bonbon,  judges are selected for a grand jury by the Awards Committee. The group of Grand Jury judges will consist of:

• AoC Awards Committee Members and Board Members
• Other qualified judges as nominated and agreed by the AoC Awards Committee
• Guest judges (e.g., food and wine journalists, experienced chefs/pastry chefs etc.) as nominated and agreed in advance by the AoC Awards Committee

All bean-to-bar chocolate bars that have been given a Gold in the initial judging automatically qualify for the Golden Bean or Golden Tablet (flavoured) consideration. Only gold awarded bars are elidigible for this category. There is no additional charge for this category. This category cannot be entered in separately and is only open to bars entered in and awarded in the same year as the Grand Jury is conveniened for in the AoC awards.

All filled chocolates that have been given a Gold in the initial judging automatically qualify for the Golden Bonbon consideration.

The Grand Jury evaluates all the potential Golden Bean/Tablet/Bonbon candidates in silence using the following rating:

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Poor

These ratings are converted to numeric scores. Each judge nominates up to 3 products based on the numeric scores. The information will then be collated together to determine the winning product. In addition, all members of the Grand Jury must unanimously agree that the chosen product is worthy of the Golden Bean award, Golden Tablet (flavoured) Award, and the Golden Bonbon award.