In January 2008 there was sadness in the Swiss chocolate world. Rudolf Sprungli, former head of Lindt & Sprungli chocolate company passed away. His chocolate company created its addictive bars and candies along the banks of Lake Zurich, at the second stop on the ferryboat ride. It is a favorite place for chocolate lovers to debark and take their sweet time on the factory tour. During the day, when the winds are blowing off the water in the right direction, the scent of chocolate reaches into town and enrobes the city. The Swiss love chocolate and eat about 25 pounds apiece yearly. The only country to eat more than Switzerland is the dentist’s favorite, England.

Chocolate is a multi-billion dollar industry in Zurich. The other big chocolate mogul in town is Barry Callebaut, who is a sourcer and buyer of beans from around the world and producer of industrial chocolate for sale to Nestle, Hershey and Cadbury, among others. In his office building in Zurich, one of the floors is the Chocolate Academy, where pastry chefs and bakers are trained in the use of chocolate.

He’s just opened a new chocolate factory and academy in China where they aim to introduce the products seductive charms. All eight of his chocolate factories around the world have Chocolate Academies attached to educate and share new knowledge and techniques with chocolate artisans. He’s sort of the Johnny Appleseed of Chocolate.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Switzerland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.