Derrick Pho, Master Chocolatier and founder of the Chocolate Technology Center, is committed to educating the next generation of chocolatiers.
Through his years of experience and raw passion for the art of making chocolate, Pho has realized that having a deep understanding of the behavior of chocolate is the key to consistency–which also happens to be the key to success. At The Chocolate Technology Center, he deconstructs the process to the very basics to ensure that students have a firm grasp on chocolate theory so that they can effectively, and tastefully, translate that to a delicious product.
Based in Toronto, Pho co-founded Sambirano Valley Chocolat, a premium Madagascar pure origin couverture chocolate, which contains a very high percentage of cocoa butter. He also created the Canadian Intercollegiate Chocolate Competition, held at Humber College in Toronto, and oversaw the Canadian selection and coaching for the highest distinction of the international chocolate competition.
A client of Micelli, Pho is deeply invested in educating, inspiring and empowering his successors. To learn more about what fuels Pho and the intention of the Chocolate Technology Center to grow, influence and pioneer the future of chocolate, we had to pick his forward-thinking brain.
We’ve always known that the best and the brightest come to Micelli to bring their creations to life, but when we met Norman Love, we knew we’d seen a star.
Love got his start as a pastry chef, trained in France, and went on to head up the global kitchens of Ritz Carlton as executive pastry chef. During this time he developed a deep understanding for the necessity of quality ingredients for a superior final product and eventually took matters into his own hands, opening a confectionary.
Love has been featured by USA Today, The Today Show, Robb Report, InStyle, Martha Stewart Living, Forbes and The Oprah Magazine for his creative, and expertly crafted, chocolates.
Read his vibrant story and see how his custom Micelli polycarbonate injection molds tie it all together.