Chocolatier wins 6 medals, 6 special prizes at 2023 ICA World Final

Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) Taiwanese chocolatier and founder of the "Q Sweet" chocolate shop Queenie Wu (吳葵妮) triumphed at the 2023 International Chocolate Awards (ICA) World Final, picking up three golds, two silvers and one bronze medal, plus six special prizes at a ceremony on Sunday.

The 2023 ICA World Final took place in Florence, Italy, and was comprised of contestants who had all been victorious in regional and national competitions, with Wu qualifying after winning three silvers and five bronzes in the Asia-Pacific regional contest.

Her success at this year's world final marked the third consecutive year of her taking gold. She was awarded medals for her array of creations which included floral-flavored chocolates and others filled with fruit puree.

Her "Comfort fruit - Green Mango (89.4)" received gold and a special prize with a score of 89.4, while "Exclusive pâte de fruits - Ginger Lily" (89.0) and "Comfort chocolate bar - Jasmine & Strawberry" (88.4) both won gold and two special prizes.

In addition, her chocolates flavored with roses grown in Nantou in central Taiwan and violets also proved to be a hit with the judging panel, winning her accolades.

Wu said she chose to include the essence of flowers in her chocolates to demonstrate girl power and be a voice for women in a male-dominated industry.

Wu said a significant challenge when producing the chocolates was figuring out the logistics of using fresh fruit to make pâte de fruits -- fruit jelly -- because even in its origin country France, frozen puree is used, not fresh fruit.

It took her a year to perfect the art of using fresh produce, during which she was forced to throw away tens of kilograms of waste products.

Another challenge was ensuring the best flavor of the different fruits and flowers, as each has a different fiber and water content, pH value and sweetness level.

Wu said she hopes her success inspires and empowers more women to enter the chocolate industry.

The ICA is the world's largest chocolate product competition and aims to identify the best chocolate on the planet. The judging phase of this year's contest took place between October and November.