Chocs ‘N Boxes: Gerry & Sailyn’s Path from Harvesting in the Philippines to Crafting Chocolates in Illinois
Chocs ‘N Boxes is a tree-to-bar established by the spouses Gerardo “Gerry” Dean and Sailyn Dean using cacao beans harvested from their own cacao farm in the Philippines.
Their chocolate journey started in January 2016 when Gerry decided to intercrop the coconut farms of his family with cacao trees. In their efforts to ensure the sustainability of their cacao farms, they opened a chocolate shop on July 21, 2021 in the Village of Norridge, Illinois. Cacao beans are shipped directly from their farm to their chocolate shop where they are roasted, ground, and turned into chocolate bars and other confections such as bonbons, pralines, truffles, dragees, thin barks, and spread.
The shop is managed by Sailyn as principal chocolatier. Sailyn trained for more than four months under French pastry chef and master chocolatier Yann Migault in an in-person, one-on-one setting from June to November 2020 in addition to attending online courses at Ecole Chocolat.
What sets Chocs ‘n Boxes apart is their chocolate making process that starts from the time their farmer harvests ripe cacao pods. The beans are fermented in three layered wooden fermentation boxes for five days and subsequently dried slowly for eight days in a combination of solar and air drying under their strict supervision. Dried beans are shipped to the US through DHL express stored in GrainPro bags to preserve their flavor.
Their cacao trees are grown using organic vermicast and bio-organic foliar fertilizers such as seaweeds and fish fermented with molasses, all produced within the farm. Their strict adherence to Good Agricultural Practices have earned them the PhilGAP Certification from the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture. Their farm, the Apoy Benit’s Cacao Agricultural Farming owned by Gerry as sole proprietor, also won as outstanding GAP-certified farm in the entire Visayas region of the Philippines.
Their chocolate journey started in January 2016 when Gerry decided to intercrop the coconut farms of his family with cacao trees. In their efforts to ensure the sustainability of their cacao farms, they opened a chocolate shop on July 21, 2021 in the Village of Norridge, Illinois. Cacao beans are shipped directly from their farm to their chocolate shop where they are roasted, ground, and turned into chocolate bars and other confections such as bonbons, pralines, truffles, dragees, thin barks, and spread.
The shop is managed by Sailyn as principal chocolatier. Sailyn trained for more than four months under French pastry chef and master chocolatier Yann Migault in an in-person, one-on-one setting from June to November 2020 in addition to attending online courses at Ecole Chocolat.
What sets Chocs ‘n Boxes apart is their chocolate making process that starts from the time their farmer harvests ripe cacao pods. The beans are fermented in three layered wooden fermentation boxes for five days and subsequently dried slowly for eight days in a combination of solar and air drying under their strict supervision. Dried beans are shipped to the US through DHL express stored in GrainPro bags to preserve their flavor.
Their cacao trees are grown using organic vermicast and bio-organic foliar fertilizers such as seaweeds and fish fermented with molasses, all produced within the farm. Their strict adherence to Good Agricultural Practices have earned them the PhilGAP Certification from the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture. Their farm, the Apoy Benit’s Cacao Agricultural Farming owned by Gerry as sole proprietor, also won as outstanding GAP-certified farm in the entire Visayas region of the Philippines.