ROCKLAND – Bixby Chocolate (https://bixbychocolate.com) the women-owned, bean-to-bar chocolatier located in Rockland has been selected as a winner for the Good Food Awards.
Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic, and responsible. Now in its twelfth year the Good Food Awards Seal, found on winning products, assures consumers they have found something exceptionally delicious that also supports sustainability and social good. Bixby Chocolate was announced as a winner on Jan. 14, with the awards ceremony following on Friday, March 4 in San Francisco.
To mark the announcement of the winners, both Alice Waters and René Redzepi, legendary chef of Noma, sent congratulatory videos. Speaking to the sustainability and social responsibility practices of the Winners, Redzepi noted: “I believe it is our collective efforts that can turn the tide and ensure our shared earth will survive. You are the champions of the future, and you are leading the way.”
Kate McAleer, founder of Bixby Chocolate, accepted the award on behalf of Bixby. “It’s a real honor to be recognized for this award given the criteria. In looking at the past recipients we are in really good company with some of the very best in America,” said Kate. “I am proud to be a part of an incredibly talented and dedicated team. We are grateful for everyone’s accomplishments and will continue to strive to make sustainable, world-class chocolate.”
After graduating from New York University, McAleer combined her interests in cultural history with the culinary arts. She earned diplomas in pastry arts and culinary management from the esteemed Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan. She also earned certificates from the Ecole Chocolate in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ever determined to improve herself and her skills, Kate is now a candidate for an MBA in food marketing from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Bixby Chocolate’s innovations include producing its own chocolate straight from the cocoa bean for several new bean-to-bar chocolate bars, and its newly created chocolate bonbons, chocolate nibs, and chocolate-covered coffee beans.
McAleer ensures that the quality organic cocoa beans are directly sourced from Caribbean countries such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Belize, and Central America’s Guatemala. She has visited these areas where she met the farmers who produce the cocoa beans that Bixby Chocolate sources.