EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

BUSINESS
with love
sweet. So, ever since I started making
my own chocolate, I have tried mixing
it with flavours such as chilli, ginger,
star anise and other spices. I was also
challenged to create a small chocolate
for the restaurant Umami. The chocolate
contained miso, a fermented soy bean
paste, which is an essential condiment
in Japanese cuisine.”
While Rasmus may have led
chocolatiers with his creative mixes
before, he is now concentrating on
a back-to-basics approach through
“Oialla is an organic
chocolate … derived
only on wild Beniano
beans found in
the Amazon”
Oialla, his chocolate brand, which
celebrates the purity of the cacao bean.
Rising through the percentages of Oialla,
when one tastes the dark chocolate that
is 72% or 78% there is no residual taste
of acidity usually found in other brands.
There is just a rich taste that continues
even after the chocolate is finished.
“Akin to wines being related to
the variety of grape and the region
they come from, if
chocolate is made
properly, one
doesn’t discuss
the percentage
of cocoa to
describe its taste
– one describes
the bean and the
earth it comes from.”
So begins the story of Oialla
– the chocolate you can trace
from bean to bar.
Rasmus sitting
on yellow sacks
of beans for
his chocolate
“Oialla is an organic
chocolate that is derived only from wild
Beniano beans found in the Amazon
jungle. The beans come from trees
that date back to the Incas and have a
strong social meaning to the community.
Through the close partnership developed
with local communities in Bolivia to
work on Oialla, the Danish Foreign
Ministry has also invested in the country
– pledging to help with the education
and infrastructure of the village.
The harvesting of beans takes place
far away from the village of Baures on
islets most often several hours by boat
and miles of walking. After collecting
them in a method that promotes
sustainability for the area, the beans
are then fermented in handmade
palm leaf baskets. The fermentation
and processing of the cacao beans
is knowledge that has been passed
on by Oialla to the local community.
Cocoa
beans
About 3,000 people
live in Baures and
approximately 1,000 of
these are children under the age of 16.
There are currently three schools in
Baures. Two of the schools are primary
schools for children aged from eight to
14. The third school is a secondary school
that teaches children from the age of 14
to 18. Another secondary school is under
construction right now. Our hope is that
our active involvement helps this
community grow and prosper.”
One can only smile at Rasmus’
commitment to both Oialla and to
the Bolivian community in Baures. In so
many ways, this is a heartwarming story.
We turned our attention to his
aspirations:
“I would like to bring Oialla into the
UK and develop a base here. I am already
selling chocolate in Denmark, France,
Germany and in the US The UK is a
natural and important market to develop.
The Danes have always possessed a
strong relationship with the British and
I believe that my chocolate will be well
received and understood. The British
have become exceptional food
connoisseurs and I look forward to
working in this market.”
Will Oialla succeed in the UK? Time
will tell, but having found its way to the
kitchens of Noma, Daniel Boulud (NY)
and Vendôme (Cologne), one suspects it
will as the product is clearly exceptional
and the industry will warm to Rasmus’
approach. It will win hearts and minds. •
EP | January 14 | 29