Formaggio Kitchen

Valrhona

Valrhona - originally known as La Chocolaterie de Vivarais - was founded by M. Guironnet, a pastry chef from the Rhône valley, in 1924. In the early 1950s they took the name Valrhona (from ‘valley’ and ‘Rhône’) and became well known in the industry as a supplier of high quality raw chocolate to other producers and chocolatiers who would finish and package it in their own products. It was not until 1986 that they began supplying retail versions of some of their products. Valrhona are pioneers in the production of high quality chocolate from carefully controlled sources. They were one of the first companies to make a feature of the percentage of the cocoa solids in chocolate – and the need for it to be high. Also, with the introduction of their ‘grand cru’ chocolates in the eighties they led the way towards named chocolate from known origins and quality beans.