2021 Technical Committee members

Ed Seguine has created craft chocolate from bean-to-bar for over a third century.  His passion for the diversity and purity of flavor in chocolate has led him to chair the ICCO Fine and Flavour Panel (now Chairman Emeritus), chairs the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee, and chairs the Fine Chocolate Industry Association-Heirloom Cocoa Preservation Sensory Committee. His lab processes and evaluates cocoa beans providing liquor and chocolate evaluations.

“While we work to develop sustainable supply chains we must not lose sight of the reason that cocoa exists—to provide flavour that delights and creates memories. We experience chocolate from some of the finest, craftsmanship produced cocoa that the world has to offer—and celebrate the craft of the men and women producers who provide this Food of the Gods. “

Ed is one of the creators of the Cocoa of Excellence Programme in 2008 and is the chair of the Technical Committee since 2009.

Darin Sukha joined the Cocoa Research Centre of the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago in 1995 and leads the Food Technology Section with focus on research, training and outreach, quality management, product development and technology toolkits for cocoa in micro and varietal based fermentation, traceability and quality standards and quality certification, niche marketing and geographical indications, and the development of cocoa based products (food and nutraceutical). He engages in local, regional, and international training and outreach on cocoa post-harvest, quality management, sensory evaluation, chocolate-making and standards development. He worked with a broad range of cocoa stakeholders, from farmers to chocolate manufacturers, in cocoa-producing regions on internationally projects and consultancies.

Darin serves on the following expert panels: International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) Panel of experts on fine or flavor cocoa, Working group on the development of international standards for the assessment of cocoa quality and flavour, Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) - Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund, ICCO Expert working group on fine or flavour cocoa, Food Advisory Sub-Committee on the CARIFORUM standards for cocoa and chocolate products and is chair of the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards specification committee for cocoa quality. 

Darin was part of the team creating Cocoa of Excellence and joined the Technical Committee in 2009.

Fabien Coutel has two decades of experience in the cocoa sector, beginning his career in France in 2003 with Chocolate Weiss before spending a decade at Nestlé in R&D where he led projects related to cocoa processes and, as a cocoa expert, contributed to the group's sustainability program, the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. In 2019, Fabien joined Cocoasource, a cocoa trading company, as Chief of Sustainability. In 2021, he was appointed to as Chair of the ICCO Ad Hoc Expert Panel on Fine or Flavour Cocoa, succeeding Ed Seguine.

Fabien is the managing director of Treegether, which he founded in 2020. “Having had the chance to meet many inspiring cocoa farmers, I wanted to find a way for consumers to meet and get to know the persons at the source of the pleasure chocolate gives.” Thanks to a unique program of cocoa tree sponsorship, cocoa farmers are lifted out of anonymity and their work is made more visible, meaningful and valued. 

Fabien Coutel has been a member of the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee since 2016. 

Florent Coste joined Valrhona in 2003 and gradually moved into production and laboratory management.  Today he is responsible of the validation and selection of all cacao bean lots related to the needs and requirements of the clients.  Sensory evaluation has been the principal tool for the selection of the beans for production, prospection and research, marketing and product innovation.

Florent has been a member of the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee since 2015. 

John began his career at Guittard Chocolate in 2014 as Director of Sustainability after 25 years in the cocoa and international trade and development business. In 1991, he co- founded and operated a leading Venezuelan cocoa exporting business with clients in the US, Japan and Europe.  In 1999, John joined ED&F Man Cocoa to restructure a cocoa exporting operation in the Dominican Republic.  In 2002 John founded EcoTrade a pioneering U.S. specialty cocoa brokerage and consultancy. In 2008, John joined premium chocolate start-up TCHO in San Francisco.  He serves on the boards of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA), the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund and is an active member of the Working Group on International Standards for the Assessment of Cocoa Quality and Flavour. 

John joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2019.

Julien has been working in R&D for the Chocolate industry for most of his professional life. Through various positions across the value chain, he now wears two main “hats” which include Cocoa and Sensory Analysis. He was at Puratos between 2012-2021. He coordinated several international research projects focusing on post-harvest processes and their influence on chocolate taste. He also served as a reference for sensory analysis on cocoa products in the Puratos Group, coordinating, training and maintaining the Belgian panel, and advising all panels existing in other countries. Passionate about cocoa and taste, he dreams to express the intrinsic flavour potential of every cocoa bean in chocolate.

Julien joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2021.

Karin Chatelain works as a food sensory scientist at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Switzerland since 2007. Within her activities at ZHAW, she is specialized in the field of cocoa and chocolate value networks and the sensory analysis of corresponding products. Karin carries out research projects in collaboration with industry and international research institutions. A substantial part of her research is the investigation of the impact of different process parameters among the cocoa value chain on the sensory quality of the resulting products. She further develops and implements professional training programs on sensory evaluation of cocoa bean quality, liquor and chocolate in Switzerland and countries of origin. She chairs several sensory expert panels, including the Swiss Chocolate Panel - a unique, cross-company network of sensory experts which builds an important bridge between science and industry. In all her activities, Karin aims to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of the organoleptic quality of cocoa and chocolate products.

Karin joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2021.

Naailah Ali is employed as a Food Technologist at Cocoa Research Centre (CRC), The University of the West Indies since 2006. Her research interests span (but are not limited to) small-scale fermentation methods, microbial succession during cacao fermentation, fermentation behaviour and quality of various genetic groups of cacao, cocoa bean drying and product development. In addition to research Naailah Ali’s duties in the Food Technology Team include execution and logistics support for training courses on post-harvest processing, quality assessment, food safety, introductory and advanced chocolate making training and sensory evaluation, locally, regionally and internationally. She is also involved in certification of product quality including physical and sensory quality assessments to support cacao farmers, local and international cocoa buyers and chocolate manufacturers. Her duties also constitute geographical indications and flavour mapping activities for local cacao, as well as research activities with international collaborators.

Naailah joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2021.

Nubia Martinez Guerrero is a researcher, visiting professor, and doctoral student in the Food Science department of the National Agrarian University at La Molina in Lima, Peru. She specialises in genetic improvement, quality evaluation, and training cacao and chocolate tasters. Her work includes the evaluation and selection of new commercial cacao genotypes, the establishment of standardized systems of quality evaluation, the improvement of post-harvest practices, sensory evaluation, and the formation and training of specialized judges in different countries throughout Latin America. She has worked with producer organizations on projects and consultancies focused on improving the quality of and specialty market access for fine flavour cacao. Nubia is part of the Cacao Technical Committee for the National Institute of Technical Standards (INACAL) for the development and application of technical standards and quality improvement in the Peruvian cacao sector, the Working Group on the development of international standards for the assessment of cocoa quality and flavour. In 2021 she became a member of the Ad hoc panel of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).

Nubia joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2019.

With his 30 years’ experience as a chocolatier, Régis Bouet puts his experiences, knowledge and resources to the service of professionals. Active in the different community actions, Régis Bouet Solutions (RBS) has a rich international network of professionals in chocolate and pastry making. Demonstration, business auditing (production, purchase and traditional techniques), sales team coordination are all part of his skill sets. He also offers labs and professional kitchens allowing the creating of recipes and realization of trials for his clients.  He has been: creator, manager of chocolate and confectionery” shop, pastry chef, international demonstrator for several industry sectors, Research and Development Director of the French chocolate maker Weiss and finalist of the “Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) Chocolatier confiseur”.  In 1995-1997, he was vice-President of the association “Chocolatiers de France” and 2013-2014, member of the French committee for the European Certification and Normalization for sustainable and traceable cocoa. In daily contact with the whole cacao value chain, he produces chocolate and confectionery chocolate products and can intervene on artisan production as well as the full industrial line. 

Regis joined the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2013.

Stephen Yaw Opoku is a research scientist at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) since 2006. He manages several foreign financed projects on cocoa in Ghana. These projects include on-farm varietal testing financed by the European Commission, African Cocoa Initiative financed by WCF/USAID, the Ghana Fine Flavour Cocoa project financed by Guittard Chocolate and Tachibana Ghana Ltd, and the establishment of an ultra-modern Quality Training Centre at CRIG financed by TCHO Ventures and parent company, Ezaki Glico. Stephen is a cocoa flavour evaluation expert and has evaluated samples from over fifty cocoa producing countries as he shadowed the Technical Committee of the 2019 edition. He has coordinated Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) participation in the Salon du Chocolat since 2010. He also has been the contact person and coordinated Ghana’s participation in Cocoa of Excellence since its inception. Stephen has trained over one thousand cocoa extension, quality control officers, cocoa farmer as well as other stakeholders along the value chain. Stephen has been a member of the ICCO ad hoc panel on fine/flavour cocoa since 2010.

Stephen joined formaly the Cocoa of Excellence Technical Committee in 2021.