Hot chocolate warms a chilly afternoon. Credit: Villajoyosa Town Hall
Xocolatíssima 2025 got here to a candy shut on Friday November 21 with a well-attended neighborhood xocolatada and the eagerly anticipated first Vilero Chocolate Dessert Contest. Dozens of residents gathered within the park and gardens of the Barbera dels Aragonés house-museum to take pleasure in a day devoted to the city’s most cherished product.
Hot chocolate warms a chilly afternoon
At 6pm, guests warmed up with scorching chocolate from every of the manufacturers collaborating on this yr’s version: Valor, Pérez, Clavileño and Marcos Tonda. Families, from the youngest to the eldest, loved the tasting whereas taking shelter from the sharp chilly that gripped the city.
Sixteen home-made desserts enter the inaugural competitors
From 5pm onwards, contestants within the inaugural Vilero Chocolate Dessert Contest started presenting their home-made creations. A complete of sixteen entries, all made utilizing chocolate from Villajoyosa, have been displayed for analysis. The jury — Mayor Marcos Zaragoza and chocolatier masters Rafa Gorrotxategi, Juan Ángel Rodrigálvarez and Juan Rubio — carried out the tasting within the Don Pedro corridor of the Barbera dels Aragonés, with spectators following the method stay.
A 3-chocolate tart claims the highest prize
The successful dessert was a three-chocolate tart crafted by Sabrina Dannert. Her recipe will probably be featured subsequent yr by the eating places collaborating in La Vila Gastronòmica, giving it a well-deserved place in town’s culinary calendar.
Workshops deliver chocolate historical past to native colleges
The day started with workshops in Villajoyosa’s public colleges, led by chocolatier masters Gorrotxategi, Rodrigálvarez and Rubio. Pupils learnt concerning the historical past and curiosities of chocolate, strengthening their connection to the city’s long-standing cocoa custom.
A transferring ceremony honours chocolate ambassadors
This yr’s Xocolatíssima opened with a keynote speech by pastry grasp Paco Torreblanca. On Thursday, Mayor Zaragoza awarded the titles of Ambaixadors d’Honor del Xocolate Viler to Pedro Lloret Llinares, Vicenta Lloret López and Vicenta Lloret Tonda, recognising their lifelong contributions to the native chocolate business.
A legacy rooted in generations of chocolatiers
Pedro Lloret’s historical past traces again to the founding of Chocolates Lloret, established by his grandfather earlier than transferring to Canalejas within the late Forties. Vicenta Lloret López has lived her whole life linked to chocolate via a protracted lineage of household manufacturers, whereas Vicenta Lloret Tonda grew up contained in the household manufacturing facility based in 1864 and later managed it till 1991.
The ‘poble del xocolate’ appears to be like to the long run
Mayor Zaragoza praised the three ambassadors for serving to to form the id of Villajoyosa because the “poble del xocolate”. Attendees additionally loved a preview of the upcoming documentary Poble de Xocolate, set to premiere in 2026.
A profitable version closes with optimism
Xocolatíssima 2025 closes one other profitable version, celebrating Villajoyosa’s deep-rooted chocolate heritage whereas waiting for the way forward for this emblematic native custom.
