The Chocolate Queen of Cebu Raquel Choa showcases ways of preparing cacao with her daughter Hannah Choa, who is known as the chocolate princess.
What is it that Filipino migrants in the U.S. surely miss? The sweet smelling aroma of Filipino merienda favorites especially the famous sikwate and champorado among others.
With the privilege of giving back this memory as a sweet inspiration to Filipino communities in the U.S., the chocolate queen Raquel Choa shared her chocolate journey at B3 Summit in Los Angeles on July 28 and 29 and San Francisco, California on August 4 and 5. With Raquel was her daughter, Hannah, whom people call the chocolate princess and Edu Pantino, Chairperson of Phil. Cacao Region 7.
Beginnings
From a bittersweet life of farming and roasting cacao in the mountains of Balamban to working hard to raise her eight children, the chocolate queen looks back at her past as a stepping stone that shaped her present being the president of her own company Ralfe Gourmet, and its registered trade names, The Chocolate Chamber, Ralfe Artisanal Chocolate, and Batirol.
“People ask me, ‘Who is your trainer?’ I tell them, ‘the rocks, twigs, mountains and rivers are my trainers,” said Raquel Choa at the summit.
Grateful for the rich natural resources that the Philippines has and her childhood experiences being taught by her grandmother on how to cultivate cacao and other crops, Raquel has grown in her love for cacao which was meant to be shared with the rest of the Filipinos.
Service
As Philippine chocolate sommelier, Raquel intends to raise standards of elevating Philippine cacao by teaching people how to appreciate varied cacao flavors and to source cacao from different regions of the country.
Identity
“True to our Filipino identity, our form of chocolate is in the tablea form. We need to be unique and embrace who we are as a people. Let’s tell the whole world that we Filipinos know how to make chocolate—we have to innovate, but we also have to maintain our identity,” she added.
Attendees of the summit also had a taste of their signature cacao de bola and sikwate prepared on the spot with the chocolate princess and the queen herself.
The summit aimed to support a FilAm organization in California called “Anglahi” by the Bread of Life Community which has a goal to assist the FilAm youth retrace their roots, find their ethnic identity, and give back to our homeland.
The result is some of the youth will come to the Philippines and will be trained as a Philippine Chocolate Sommelier.
