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U.S. chocolate maker Amano Artisan Chocolate has taken top honors at the 2011 Academy of Chocolate Awards in London. This is the second time the company has been selected for these prestigious awards. Amano received five recognitions for its chocolate, including one gold, three silvers (two in the same category) and a bronze as well as a sixth award for packaging. The awards include:

-Gold for Amano Dos Rios palet d’or in Best Filled Chocolate, Plain category
-Silver for Amano Dos Rios in the Bean to Bar Best Dark Bar category
-Silver for Amano Chuao, also in Bean to Bar Best Dark Bar category
-Silver for Amano Ocumare in Best Milk Bean to Bar category
-Bronze for Amano Cinnamon pecan in the Best Filled Chocolate, Nuts category
-Silver for Amano bar packaging

The company was recognized at the annual Academy of Chocolate awards ceremony on May 18 at Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly, London, England.

“We were extremely impressed with the caliber of premium chocolate companies represented in this year’s competition, which was established to build greater awareness about the significant difference between truly fine chocolate and mass-produced chocolate confectionary, “comments Sara Jayne Stanes OBE, chair of the Academy of Chocolate. “Amano’s products are among the best of the best, and we’re very pleased that they were selected for this year’s honor.”

These awards are the second international competition won by Amano, which in 2009 became the first American chocolate maker to win The Academy of Chocolate’s Gold Medal for the Amano Madagascar Bar, along with five other awards.

“We are honored to have been selected for this prestigious award,” says Art Pollard, Founder and Head Chocolate Maker. “Our company has always stood for quality, craftsmanship and taste, and we look forward to continuing to develop new chocolate confections that delight our customers and deliver on the true promise of gourmet super premium chocolate.”

Amano’s confections are produced in Orem, Utah, by Executive Pastry Chef Rebecca Millican. Before joining Amano, Millican was an instructor for the Institute for Culinary Education in New York City. She appears regularly on the Food Network’s “Challenge” show in addition to competing as team captain in the National Pastry Championship.

Amano is an authentic U.S.-based chocolate makers in the United States that retains its small artisanal status using superior-quality cocoa beans sourced directly from Madagascar, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Ecuador, and transformed into finished super-premium chocolate. Amano is the chocolate of choice for notable restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, Chez Panisse and a number of Mario Batali's eateries. The company strives to return to chocolate's roots by making it slowly and in very small batches, while concentrating on developing the finest flavors possible. Amano currently produces eight single-origin chocolate bars, including Madagascar Single Origin Bar (70 percent cocoa), Ocumare Single Origin Bar (70 percent cocoa) from Venezuelan cocoa benas, and Chuao Single Origin Bar (70 percent cocoa) from Chuao, Venezuela, which is perhaps the most highly sought after cocoa in the world. For more information, visit www.amanochocolate.com.

London’s Academy of Chocolate was founded in 2005 to promote fine quality chocolate. The most noted chocolate makers and chocolatiers throughout the world submit their finest creations to the Academy with the hope of winning top honors. Besides hosting the Academy of Chocolate Awards, the Academy of Chocolate hosts a number of educational programs to educate both the public and professionals. For more information, visit www.academyofchocolate.org.uk.