> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thechocolatelife.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Judging Innovation in Cocoa | #PodSaveChocolate Ep 142 - URL: https://thechocolatelife.com/judging-innovation-in-cocoa-podsavechocolate-ep-142/ - Published: 2025-08-14T19:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-08-16T19:54:31.000Z - Description: Episode 142 of #PodSaveChocolate features an exploration of judging innovation in cocoa, from the perspective of a judge (me) of the 2025 Ecuadorian Cacao Innovation Award, with a BONUS tasting! [Updated] - Author: Clay Gordon - Tags: PodSaveChocolate, Live Stream **When and Where to Watch** 🗓️ The stream airs LIVE at 11:00 ****PDT/MST** (12:00 MDT, 1:00 CDT, 2:00 EDT), on Friday, August 15th, 2025. Links below to watch LIVE and to view the archived episode. Click on this (shareable) link to watch on YouTube. Please subscribe (free!) to the [@PodSaveChocolate YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@podsavechocolate/featured?ref=thechocolatelife.com), like this video, comment, and ****share** this episode to help grow the #PSC community. This ****LINKEDIN** link is shareable. [![CTA Image](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2025/05/LinkedInLogo.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/claygordon%5Fpodsavechocolate-lavidacocoa-thechocolatelife-activity-7361814468261040129-IVAh?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAAAABaLUB44l0lzyoZ9nf9Lg8nfstgzLqxbg) Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on LinkedIn. Join my network on LinkedIn to receive notifications and to refer business to each other. [Watch this episode on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/claygordon%5Fpodsavechocolate-lavidacocoa-thechocolatelife-activity-7361814468261040129-IVAh?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAAAABaLUB44l0lzyoZ9nf9Lg8nfstgzLqxbg) This ****FACEBOOK** link is shareable [![CTA Image](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2025/05/FacebookLogo.png)](https://www.facebook.com/share/17BkWu95fV/) Watch and comment LIVE or view the archived episode on ****TheChocolateLife page** on Facebook (for 30 days, then watch the archive on YouTube). Follow [TheChocolateLife on Facebook ](https://fb.me/thechocolatelife?ref=thechocolatelife.com)to receive notifications and catch up on other content. [Watch this episode on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/share/17BkWu95fV/) --- ## **Episode 142 Overview** As I point out in the post linked to below, I had already been thinking about innovation in cacao and chocolate for two decades when that post was originally published (back in 2019). [A Crisis in Innovation in Aisle 5I’ve been thinking about innovation in cocoa and chocolate for close to 20 years now, wondering what being truly innovative means. My take on the Deepak Chopra line, “It’s not enough to think outside the box, you need to throw the box away” is … > In order to truly![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-229.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/vrgoggles-seekingthefuture.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/a-crisis-in-innovation-in-aisle-5/) I have been supported in this exploration by the hundreds of makers whose work I have tasted, but more recently and more directly through the [Craft Chocolat Challenge](https://www.craftchocolatchallenge.com/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) and one of its sponsors, [Cocoa Supply](https://cocoasupply.com/?ref=thechocolatelife.com), through the addition of an Innovation Award in both the 2024 and 2025 competitions. So, when I was approached by Leila Carvajal, the founder of Cocoa Supply, to be a judge in the Ecuadorian Cacao Innovation Award program, I jumped at the chance. --- ### **Judging Innovation: Why?** Answering this question is easy, even more so considering the increase in the cost of cocoa (and at least here in the US, import tariffs that drive up costs even more). The specialty/craft/bean-to-bar market has conventionally focused on high cocoa content single-origin bars without inclusions or flavorings, making them comparatively very expensive, even without added cocoa butter. Different formats and presentations (e.g., dipped, panned, and enrobed items) expand the potential customer base while providing opportunities for producing lower-COGS items at greater profit margins. Traditional awards programs (e.g., International Chocolate Awards, Academy of Chocolate Awards, Good Food Awards) do not take innovation into account. (TL;DR; It’s not easy to.) Often, innovative products break norms, and diverse judging panels, unless specifically asked to consider innovation in judging, will have one or more members who are not impressed, thereby resulting in ratings that result in them not being recognized. > I saw this back in the early 2000s when I was working on the World Pastry Team Championships. Often, the teams from Asia (Japan, S Korea) were technically excellent but faced challenges taking ingredients and flavors that were culturally important and making them accessible to Western (mostly European-trained) chefs. By explicitly adding innovation as a variable, entrants who take risks can be awarded for taking those risks. ### **Judging Innovation: What** This is not so easy to answer: > What does it mean to innovate, to be (truly) innovative, and to qualify as an innovation? When I was working with Dustin and Leila on the judging criteria for the Innovation Award in the Craft Chocolat Challenge, this was a question we tackled head-on. I had a specific instance of this as a judge in the Confections category of the 2015 Good Food Awards. During the afternoon judging round, the judges at my table (I was the head judge for the table) were considering between two different entries – one was still-yet-another salted butter caramel (as I recall) and chocolate-covered honeycomb. Not honeycomb candy (caramel with baking soda), but actual from-the-beehive honeycomb covered in chocolate. I argued that we’d already judged a half-dozen salted butter caramels, so passing something through that was new and different. > In the morning round, I had a similar discussion with my table about a saffron-flavored nougat and why I wanted to pass it through over a still-yet-another salted butter caramel because it was different. I was voted down because other judges were not fans of saffron. We never got to decide based on the innovation criterion, as one of the judges at the table started to argue that honey was not sustainable, and so the entrant should be rejected on that basis even though the pre-judging process determined that the entry met all the criteria for being “good” and it was not up to us to question that decision. > I lost the argument at the judging table but lodged a formal complaint with the organizers and that was the last time I was invited to be a judge in the Good Food Awards. **Tasting** [Bean-To-Bar Chocolate Sweetened With Raw HoneyHoneymoon crafts delicious bean-to-bar chocolate sweetened with raw honey. We use sustainably sourced cacao from Haiti, Peru, Uganda, and Belize. Raw Wildflower Honey is sourced from Bourbon, MO and all packaging used is compostable. Our factory is located in the heart of Clayton, MO at 16 N Central Avenue!![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/yellow_seal_and_hmc_607b6936-a0e5-459e-aa6c-f8950ce007af.png)Honeymoon Chocolates![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/honeymoon_logo.png)](https://hmchocolates.com/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) ****Tasting:** Chocolate-covered Raw Honeycomb ### **Judging Innovation: How** In the end, rather than limit judges in the Craft Chocolat Challenge to a specific rubric – consider the following factors and assign a point value to each factor – as an extension of the approach to organoleptic evaluation, we decided to trust the experience of the judges. Each judge was asked to nominate three picks, unranked and unscored, and explain why (what it was about the entry), they thought was *innovative*. The picks could be independent of the scores given for consideration in the other categories. Awards were presented on a consensus of the nominations. > But that’s not the approach taken with the Ecuadorian Cacao Innovation Award. There is a formal rubric of judging categories and scores. In this episode, I am **not** going to discuss how I scored any of the entries; I am going to discuss how the rubric – about whose development I had *no* input – as presented, helps *and hinders* the judging process. | Judging Rubric | | | | | -------------- | ------------ | -------------------- | ------------------ | | **Innovation** | **Quality** | **Market Potential** | **Sustainability** | | Creativity | Sensory | Consumer | Social | | Novelty | Craftmanship | Logistics | Environment | | | Packaging | Readiness | | **Some of the Judging Prompts** ◉ Is there a creative usage of cocoa? ◉ Is it a new product or presentation? ◉ Does it have a good flavor, odor, texture? ◉ Is it appropriate for the European consumer ◉ ⋯ These four elements account for 70% of the final score. I will also share the rubric I developed for the 2015 Good Food Awards judging, and how and why I think it is a better approach, and also discuss a modern alternative that might just be a whole lot better. --- ### **More Innovation Discussions on TheChocolateLife** [The Nature of Innovation | #PodSaveChocolate Ep 112Episode 112 of #PodSaveChocolate features an exploration of what makes a chocolate bar “innovative” – one of the judging categories in the 2025 Craft Chocolat Challenge.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-232.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/Ep-112-NatureOfInnovation---Featured1920x1080-2c4db66af3e6bd20-4.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/the-nature-of-innovation-podsavechocolate-ep-112/) [TheChocolateLife::LIVE – Innovation, Trends, AwardsEpisode 47 streams live on Friday, June 10th from 12:00 EDT. This is part one in a two-part series surrounding my return to the Fancy Food Show for the first time since June/July 2019.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/icon/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons-230.png)The Chocolate LifeTheChocolateWire![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock-gallyhassan_332645919-Featured1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/thechocolatelife-live-innovation-trends-awards/) --- ### **Questions?** If you have questions or want to comment, you can do so during the episode or, if you are a ChocolateLife member, you can add them in the Comments below at ***any*** time. --- ### **Episode Hashtags and Socials** #Innovate #Innovative #Innovation #chocolate #chocolat #specialtychocolate #craftchocolate #beantobarchocolate #cocoa #cacao #cacau #PodSaveChoc #PSC #LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife --- ### **Future Episodes** 🗓️ None scheduled at the time this was published. --- ### **#PodSaveChocolate and #TheChocolateLifeLIVE Archives** **To read an archived post** and find the links to watch archived episodes, click on one of the bookmark cards, below. [Pod Save Chocolate Calendar and ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. #PodSaveChocolate!![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/12/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2023/11/TagImageBanner-PodSaveChocTagFinal_1920x1080-5.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/pod-save-chocolate-calendar-and-archive/) [#TheChocolateLifeLIVE ArchiveNews, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/12/JR_Pods60x60FavIconCutoutButtons.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2023/03/solen-feyissa-WG7v_wYZW4Q-unsplash-CalendarFeatured1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/thechocolatelife-live-calendar/) [PodSaveChocolateHosted by Clay Gordon, the creator and moderator of TheChocolateLife.com, #PodSaveChocolate covers a wide variety of topics in the worlds of cocoa and chocolate. The video versions of this podcast are hosted and archived on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Click on the PodSaveChocolate link in the top nav on TheChocolateLife for the links to the post accompanying each episode.![](https://pnc.st/static/img/256x256.png)Pinecast![](https://social.pinecast.net/preview_card/podcasts/covers/d3730dca-0711-4720-9ef3-3b18918c1f0d/TagImageBanner-PodSaveChocTagFinal_1920x1080.jpg?title=PodSaveChocolate)](https://pnc.st/s/podsavechocolate?ref=thechocolatelife.com) Audio-only podcasts --- ## Not a Member? Live The Chocolate Life – Live La Vida Cocoa! Sign up for Free to comment and receive members-only content. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. 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