Valrhona is the most famous name among the world's finest chocolate brands. Especially, coming from a land of gourmets and food connoisseurs, this French manufactured chocolate is synonymous with luxury and epicurean pleasure.
Valrhona is manufactured in a quaint French wine district near Lyon, in a small time town called Tain L'Hermitage. Valrhona was set up in the year 1924. It was the brainchild of a pastry chef who came from the Rhone Valley. Today, Valrhona chocolate company has 5 subsidiary companies under it. Valrhona also has some 60 regional distributors, who supply their chocolates around the world.
Valrhona chocolates are not a name that is to be taken lightly. Be assured that you will not find them at supermarkets and neighborhood shops. They are associated with class and exclusivity. So you have to look a lot before you can lay your hands on a bar of Valrhona. Some of Valrhona's most famous and coveted, though rare, products are its Noir Amer (black bitter), the Noir Gastronomie, the Le Noir and the Le Lacte. Most of the times, Valrhona's chocolates are to be found at exclusive wine shops, or in up-market confectioners and candy shops. All of their chocolates are produced in the form of confectionery, plain, flavored chocolate in either the bar form or the pellet form.
The other thing that the name Valrhona is associated with is its exclusive school for training in chocolate making and chocolate development. Called the “Ecole du Grand Chocolat”, instructions are awarded here for the creation of world class chocolates and also other dishes and pastries that are chocolate based. To have been at the Ecole du Grand Chocolat, translates as being a world class chocolatier. Valrhona is also one of the few Vintage Chocolate producers in the world. Their vintage brands are called Ampamakia, Gran Couva and Palmira.
