Patric Chocolate is a bean-to-bar, craft-

chocolate Chocolate 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 since at least the Olmec civ ...

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.

History

After founding Patric Chocolate, McClure sold his first chocolate, the 70% Sambirano Valley single-origin bar, in July 2007. The company grew over the next eight years, managing to remain in operation during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, and expanded the availability of its products through increased production, distribution, and online sales. 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. 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 PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Food Science Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the developm ...

from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, where he conducted research in the Milton Bailey Flavor Chemistry Laboratory and in conjunction with the Sensory Evaluation Center of

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. McClure's research made use of analytical flavor chemistry,

sensory analysis Sensory analysis (or sensory evaluation) is a science, scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses (visual perception, sight, olfaction, smell, taste, touch and Hearing ( ...

experimental design The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...

, and current methods of

statistical learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

and

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, 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. This new division, Patric Food & Beverage Development, is focused on food and beverage product development, product and process optimization, and science-based technical solutions.

Chocolate bars and other products

Patric Chocolate bars are handcrafted from

cocoa beans The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances ...

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 Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

, such as sourcing mostly certified organic ingredients, purchasing cacao for higher than conventional prices, and placing an emphasis on recycling and renewable energy use.

Awards and features

As of 2021, Patric Chocolate has won a total of twenty-six

Good Food Awards The Good Food Awards or GFAs is an annual award competition for outstanding American craft food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients. Created by th Good Food Foundation(formerly Seedling Projects), the Good Food Awards take pl ...

, more than any other entrant in any category, an achievement first celebrated publicly at the 10th annual Good Food Awards ceremony in 2020. 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. 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. * 2013 Winners: In-NIB-itable, 67% Madagascar, 75% Madagascar. * 2012 Winner: 70% Signature Blend. * 2011 Winner: In-NIB-itable. In 2017,

Zagat The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering ...

proclaimed that Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate "makes some of the best chocolate bars in the world" which "are in high demand." In December 2015,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

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." 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. 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. 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. Patric Chocolate was also featured in

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

' list of ''10 Truly Artisanal Foods to Try Now'' and

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

's article ''Taste's to Try: Best New American Chocolate''

Notes and references

External links

History

Chocolate bars and other products

Awards and features

See also

Notes and references

External links