L'articolo Look Out – Autumn / Winter 21-22 proviene da Cecilia Rabassi.

Chocolate is like a son to me.

Cecilia Tessieri, chocolate creator

Her company was founded in 1990, with the brand deriving from the surname of her maternal grandmother. Setting out with simple family projects, each and every cocoa bean was inspected in expanding the business.
The audience took part in tastings of delicious handmade products, starting with the “Toscano Brown”, a concentrate of milk chocolate, characterised by a strong milk taste with a slight sweet note. The tasting continued with the “Toscano Black”, defined by Cecilia as “my first child”, a pure 70% dark chocolate that has won several awards and is often used in the patisseries of the most starred chefs, and concluding a fusion of 9 different types of cocoa, recipient of the “London Chocolate Academy” award for 2 consecutive years. The chocolate creator Cecilia accompanied the tasting with a story that explained the creation of her recipes, which she rigorously invented on her own.

The protagonist then dedicated time to answering questions from the audience, saying in particular that chocolate treated naturally is good for one’s health but in moderate quantities and that it does not have a set expiry but is preferably consumed within 18 months, otherwise it tends to dry out. Finally, she specified that the quality of a bar of chocolate is assessed by the crunch it has when bitten into.

How to best taste the chocolate according to Cecilia: let it melt in your mouth and think only of positive things, letting yourself be carried away by the unique and inimitable taste.

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L'articolo The mother of chocolate: Cecilia Tessieri proviene da Cecilia Rabassi.

The cream with extra-virgin olive oil

Amedei products are made with pure cocoa butter. Tessieri has eliminated soy lecithin, gluten and all artificial colourings and flavours. Amedei is the only producer that does not use butter, cream or ganache in its pralines, availing of only fresh or natural ingredients such as coffee beans, almonds, pistachios or fruit. Over the years, the product range has expanded from single-origin bars to pralines. The latest addition is the chocolate cream with Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil.

Like a bouquet of perfumes

Origin is fundamental for Amedei. There are many single-origin bars, from Jamaica to Venezuela, from Ecuador to Madagascar (the only African country where the quality of the beans has passed the rigorous examination of the Tuscan company). However, Tessieri explains that the true talent of the chocolatier is revealed in creating the perfect blend: “My work is similar to that of the ‘nose’ that creates perfumes. The secret is in the blend that is always improved and perfected, in creating Amedei’s personality and capacity.”
Britain is the second largest market for Amedei after Italy, being present in London in the most exclusive stores: Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. The United States is another important market, whilst Asia is undergoing significant growth. Yet Amedei’s headquarters and production, Tessieri assures, will always remain in Tuscany. “Our being Italian is a great strength,” she affirms. “I must say however that I feel more appreciated abroad than in Italy, because we are too xenophilic. When a great French chef creates a dish, they use French chocolate; when a great Italian chef creates a dish, they don’t use Italian chocolate.”

Da Il sole 24 ore

L'articolo Cecilia Tessieri: how I came to have a “nose” for chocolate proviene da Cecilia Rabassi.

“Going from being a foundress and above all from having a research and product development job to the entrepreneurial role, without specific training or knowledge, without the support of a team, is a very hard test,” she tells me.

This challenge taken on without hesitation, like when in the 1990s when she decided to “change” and follow a completely different path from the one that already appeared to be clearly laid out, opting to open a small chocolate workshop instead.

However, chocolate is the food of the gods and should be treated, handled and understood as such. It is not enough to work cocoa; it is necessary to start from the bean, from the plantation. Thus began her very personal journey that led her to becoming a maître chocolatier—the first woman in a typically male kingdom.

“Women have a different sensibility, they have the intuition, being fundamental in experimenting. However, I appreciate the masculine approach, which is different but not less important.”

Five years ago came a new change. Cecilia was catapulted into the world of entrepreneurship. There were tough times, with an awareness that a company cannot remain still but must progress.

“It was a very painful time, full of sacrifices, of people who abandoned me and others who, rather, gave me confidence; of just compromises reached without ever giving up my dignity but evaluating limits and merits, measuring them in a balance of emotions. I realised that I couldn’t do everything myself. It is true that each of us has an “I” that wants to emerge but the company is a team and the entrepreneur needs partners who support the project, managers with whom to create a balance and to delegate.”

Thus came the decision to cede the majority, allowing a foreign partner to enter.

“I chose to see the company grow and develop rather than implode, even if it meant giving up something.”

“On the other hand,” she continues, “Cecilia Tessieri and Amedei are two different things. Cecilia is a Maître Chocolatier and this is mine alone, whilst Amedei is something else—it is the company I serve. Surrendering it means helping it to grow and become stronger. It means allowing the story to go on, to continue to bring a smile to those who choose Amedei chocolate. It is the concept of challenge, of giving value to a craft enterprise and making it become great.”

Cecilia and her lucid vision. Cecilia and true love for the company, which is shown not in its possession but in the ability to let it go to allow it to grow.

“All this led me to a great undertaking working on myself, on the awareness that in our earthly passage we must always leave a positive mark, putting in our heart, passion, impetus. If too much is planned, what is lost is life itself, which must rather flow smoothly, a river to go along without being overwhelmed. Living life because it is very short. We don’t know when it will end and this is the most beautiful thing: life cannot be controlled. For this reason, it is important to live life with confidence, remembering to always give back, on the basis of that received and welcoming that which comes along even if different because change is part of our renewal.”

As I said, a wonderful life lesson.

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L'articolo Cecilia Tessieri and the art of chocolate proviene da Cecilia Rabassi.