Iskaparate.com is going strong with its meaningful partnerships and mission to provide free cooking workshops as it reaches Davao City through the support of DTC Promos Inc., to hold a chocolate-making training led by CMV Txokolat Owner and Head Chocolatier, Christian Valdes.

The event was hosted on June 21, 2025, by one of Davao’s leading distribution companies, BuyersLink Distribution Inc., specializing in foodservice items like spices, sauces, frozen and canned ingredients, and more, even catering to dairy products and flavored syrups from popular brands such as Emborg and Monin.

Aside from offering a wide variety of food products and ingredients, BuyersLink also has a long and ongoing history of holding cooking and baking demonstrations for the community of chefs, bakers, and food business owners to strengthen the local food industry. This began after owners Oliver Lee and Diane Lee decided to convert some of their space into a kitchen studio where they can host the demos, showing that they are serious about this intent.

Both enthusiastic about making culinary learning sessions available to those who seek them, Iskaparate and BuyersLink came up with a joint effort to hold a chocolate masterclass to bring expert knowledge to the people of Davao. This is an acknowledgement of the lack of training opportunities in the region and an aim to fill that gap.

The Chocolate-Making Workshop

The success of the event was also possible thanks to the presence and support of DTC Promos Inc. President and COO, Marissa Dames; Unox Philippines Marketing Development Specialist, Chef Alphie Azarias; and the Owners of Nogie's Lifestyle Skills Tutorial and Regional Representatives for Emborg Dairy Products, Chef Ricky Bernardino and Chef Dave Peñafiel.

Our participants brought home not only valuable learnings from the chef instructor but also great prizes for select attendees who won via raffle draw high-value kitchen items and tech gadgets from the generosity of the rest of the party, including BuyersLink President Oliver Lee and Chief Financial Officer Diane Lee.

The chocolate-making experience and the generous prizes aren’t the only highlights of the workshop. Chef Christian shared how you can use the Unox Cheftop Mind.Maps Combi Oven to roast your cacao beans. Because of its precise temperature and airflow control, you can roast your beans evenly.

Aside from its features, custom programs may also be set to mimic drum roasting, using low fan speed, dry heat, and steady temperature ramp-up. If you master it, you can manage to get a slow, even roast that brings out the beans' aroma without scorching them. It may take you some experimenting with fan settings and dry heat, but once dialed in, it performs with surprising accuracy. If you’re working with small batches, it can do the job perfectly!

Premium Chocolate Recipes

The great thing about this masterclass is that it didn’t teach how to make chocolate like most free classes you see online. These aren’t basic chocolates made from melted store-bought chocolate bars shaped in star molders and topped with sprinkles. Chef Christian taught exclusive chocolate-making techniques, even a lesson on how it evolved from cacao pods, and generously shared unique, premium chocolate recipes that you might only see in high-end chocolate shops or restaurants.

Fruit & Nut Mendiant

The Fruit & Nut Mendiant is a chocolate creation featuring white chocolate discs topped with dried mango, candied ginger, and pili nuts.

If we’re talking about a chocolate that is quite edgy in texture and eccentric in taste, this one holds the title. The chocolate disc is sweet, the dried mango is both sweet and sour, the candied ginger is spicy, pungent, and citrusy, and the pili nuts are well… nutty. It’s like a circus of flavors bursting in your mouth, and it’s addictively good.

It’s mostly because of the ginger. Although it’s candied, it doesn’t taste like gummy sugar but a real ginger stick with retaining flavors that simply has a sweet kick. The whole thing is authentic in taste; unique, yet still has the personality of a chocolate.

Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Nib Bar

When we asked around for the audience’s favorite chocolate of the day, the Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Nib Bar was easily the most mentioned variant. And if I can say an opinion, it was my favorite too!

This chocolate bar is true to its name: sweet, salty, and spicy. Now try to taste that. It’s also a circus of flavors like the fruit & nut mendiant but quite in a different way. When you take a bite, the sweetness and creaminess of the chocolate is what will hit first, like a typical chocolate bar. And then the saltiness follows — little salt particles barely there but so well-distributed to balance the sweetness and to add just the right punch of contrast and depth. The last thing to hit is the spice. It gives you that hot feeling in your mouth that’s quite intriguing and will make you panic a little bit (because, I mean, why is the chocolate spicy?), but you’ll remain chewing with a confused face. It’s a little weird, but that’s exactly what makes it good.

Dark Chocolate Truffle

The Dark Chocolate Truffle isn’t the most visually appealing among the three chocolates, but taking a bite is a whole surprise. It’s a chocolate ball with matte cocoa dusting and has a dry, slightly bitter scent. It feels firm but not rock hard, just enough so your fingers sense the ganache beneath the thin chocolate shell.

When your teeth hit the ganache, it instantly feels soft and lush. It has a delicate fullness that melts in your mouth very slowly. During that experience, you’ll taste an alternating texture between creamy and slightly powdery. It’s a pure chocolate experience that perfectly incorporates the sheer sweetness of commercial chocolate and the bitterness of authentic cocoa. This might be something you’d want to recreate if you want to get the health benefits of dark chocolate.

History of Chocolate

Cacao Origin

Long before cacao became part of candy bars, cacao grew wild in Central and South America and was mainly used as chocolate drinks. The early civilizations, like the Maya and Aztecs, saw cacao as something special, so special that it was used in rituals and even as currency. It’s quite funny because people then would pick up mud and mold it to resemble the shape of cacao, like fake money.

In the 1500s, Spanish explorers brought cacao to Europe. This was when the drink in the Americas eventually became a luxurious treat for European elites. By the mid-1700s, cacao had become a must-have in aristocratic circles, served as a chocolate drink that only the wealthy could afford.

So much had changed during the Industrial Revolution. Thanks to new technology, cacao could be processed faster and cheaper through steam-powered machines. That’s when chocolate started reaching more people. Finally, not just for the kings and queens!

What is Theobroma Cacao?

Theobroma cacao is the scientific name for the cacao tree. It’s an evergreen that belongs to the Malvaceae family (the same family as hibiscus!). Fun fact: “Theobroma” means “food of the gods,” which feels about right.

And what about theobromine? Theobromine is the primary stimulant found in chocolate, like the counterpart of caffeine in coffee. They have a bit of similar effects, like interfering with sleep patterns, except theobromine is gentler, milder, has a slow onset, and is non-addictive, whereas caffeine is intense, strong, fast acting, and can be addictive, according to Crio Bru.

Theobromine is a natural compound found in cacao that gives chocolate its subtle bitterness. It’s also the reason your dog shouldn’t eat chocolate—this compound doesn’t sit well with pets.

Types of Cacao

Cacao comes in several types, each with its own flavor personality. While your favorite chocolate bar might not say it on the label, behind the scenes, that’s a whole unique variant giving your chocolate that exact taste you cannot get from other variants.

• Forastero: Bitter and acidic
• Criollo: Nutty, caramel, fruity
• Trinitario: Earthy, fruity, spicy
• Nacional: Floral, berries, earthy

About the Instructor: Chef Christian Valdes

Born and raised in California. Christian grew up with a ravenous appetite for chocolates, like one would assume most kids do. But Christian had always been eager for more; he was curious about the complexities of making them.

Once he graduated from high school, he went to the Philippines to learn more about his Filipino heritage. He settled in Manila and eventually graduated from Enderun Colleges. This was when he met a friend who taught him the basics of chocolate-making. From there, he taught himself the more complex processes, making unique creations that are far from the plain chocolate bars he once munched on as a child.

Today, he’s the talented owner and head chocolatier of CMV Txokolat, a premium chocolate brand which he founded in 2012.

CMV Txokolat specializes in creating chocolates that feature unique flavor combinations that complement its rich chocolate base sourced from high-quality cacao. They offer custom creations, corporate catering, B2B gift solutions, and even weddings, events, and party favors. It has several branches in Metro Manila such as in Rockwell, Bonifacio Global City, and Podium.

Ever since founding the brand in 2012, Christian has devoted himself to making chocolates the best way he knew how: by hand. And now, he offers the most exquisitely handcrafted chocolates, featuring one-of-a-kind flavors that can be described as truly Filipino.

Join us this coming August for our next chocolate-making class in the Philippines! Subscribe now for more updates.