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Advisory Council

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Director, Pastry Operations International Culinary Center

Jansen Chan

Jansen Chan is currently navigating the next generation of pastry chefs as Director of Pastry Operations at the International Culinary Center in New York City. He combines his unique training as a former architect with years of working in fine-dining kitchens: the Fifth Floor, Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, and Mix in Las Vegas. His most recent position as Executive Pastry Chef at New York’s Oceana Restaurant provided accolades and awards from major publications such as The New York Times and TimeOutNY.

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Chef/Creative/Maker - Food Consulting

Elizabeth Falkner

Chef Elizabeth Falkner is a world recognized, award winning chef and continues to be a leader and pioneer in the culinary arts. Falkner worked her way up in restaurants and then owned restaurants in San Francisco, California for over twenty years before moving to New York in 2012. She and has been a James Beard Foundation Award nominee (2005) and relentlessly continues to cook for many charity events and Food and Wine Festivals all over the world. Cooking competitions have been a favorite “sport” for Chef Falkner and she has competed in multiple culinary competitions including Food Network’s “Next Iron Chef, Redemption,” “Iron Chef America” and “Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs,” in which she was a finalist and runner up.

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Master Chocolatier, HakanMartensson.com

Håkan Mårtensson

Master Chocolatier and Chocolate Sculptor, Håkan Mårtensson was born in the heart of Sweden’s southern countryside and began to study the techniques of baking, pastry preparation and confectionary design while in high school. In 2003, Håkan began to experiment with creating chocolate sculptures after witnessing his mentor, Stefan Johnson-Petersén, carving chocolate into designs. His talents were noticed and Håkan was invited to join the Swedish Culinary Team, setting him up for high levels of success in the international arena. His team won silver in the 2006 World Cup, and in 2008, they won bronze in the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt Germany (IKA Olympiade Der Köche). In the individual showpiece category, Håkan proved to be a force to be reckoned with, earning the gold medal in chocolate sculpturing.  Not long after his international successes, Mårtensson set his sights on New York City. Today he works alongside FIKA founder, Lars Åkerlund, as FIKA´s Master Chocolatier.

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Founder, Seguine Cacao Cocoa & Chocolate Advisors

Ed Seguine

Ed Seguine has created craft chocolate from bean-to-bar for over a third of a century. Seguine has extensive experience in origin and working with farmers, coops, research groups and companies in developing cacaos. Seguine has worked at all equipment scales from 100 gm to tonne scale equipment to create award winning chocolates from these beans. His passion for the diversity and purity of flavor in chocolate has led him to chair the ICCO Fine and Flavour Panel, Chairs the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee, and Chairs the Fine Chocolate Industry Association-Heirloom Cocoa Preservation Sensory Committee.

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Specialty Cocoa Trader, Atlantic Cocoa Company/ECOM Trading

Daniel Domingo

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Editor-in-Chief, DessertProfessional.com

Matthew Stevens

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Owner, Christopher Elbow Chocolates

Christopher Elbow

After working as a pastry chef in several high profile restaurants around the country, Christopher discovered chocolate as his true passion. Founded in 2003, Christopher Elbow Chocolates is known for handcrafting bonbons and confections using the world finest chocolate and ingredients while creating eye catching works of art. Christopher's creations have garnered numerous accolades and awards from national media outlets such as Oprah, Food and Wine Magazine and Bon Appetite. Today Christopher operates 2 retail stores in Kansas City and San Francisco as well as an online boutique.

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Knipschildt Chocolatier

Fritz Knipschildt

For over 13 years House of Knipschildt has been renowned for creating exquisite quality artisan chocolate. Knipschildt Chocolatier is the oldest brand of House of Knipschildt and delivers preeminent quality handmade, hand-painted and hand packed artisan chocolate. For Knipschildt Chocolatier, Fritz Knipschildt combines exquisite old European craftsmanship, intriguing avant-garde flavor combinations and state-of the art handpicked natural ingredients to create artistic customized chocolate pieces. Fritz Knipschildt’s early passion and innovative ideas to creatively infuse elements from the savory kitchen into the world of chocolate and confection have been highly awarded at numerous national and international food competitions through the last decade and is frequently showcased on national TV stations like The Food Network and CNBC as well as in major publications like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Oprah Magazine.

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Master Chocolatier, BE Chocolat

Benoit Racquet

BE Chocolat, Initiator of Tastes. BEnoit is BElgian master chocolatier from Ceria culinary institute and was Chocolate Chef at the Belgian pavilion in Shanghai World Expo. BE Chocolat is exclusively using Callebaut Fairtrade Finest Belgian Chocolate. Production is hand made locally in USA in small batches to preserve the subtleness of tastes of premium ingredients.

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Master Chocolatier, Éclat Chocolate

Lara DaRocha

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Owner, Harlem Chocolate Factory

Jessica Spaulding

Jessica has been working with chocolate since she was 9 years old. Although she was born allergic, she discovered her love for chocolate work while trying to get around her mother's strict no sugar rules. Bonding over chocolate, Jessica's mom took her to every Salon du Chocolat, where she could taste chocolates from around the world. This is where Jessica's imagination ran wild and the seed for Harlem Chocolate Factory was planted. She figured if chocolatiers from around the world were representing their cultures, she should too. 

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Master Chocolatier, Éclat Chocolate

Christopher Curtin

Christopher Curtin is proud to share his art and experience with you through Éclat Chocolate. Christopher honed his skills in the finest chocolate houses of Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Japan, and sharing in the greatest of secrets and techniques—secrets and techniques that make eating Éclat Chocolate a unique experience you won't forget.

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