St. Croix Chocolate Company, an artisan chocolatier based in Minnesota, took two top places in the Best Confections division of the 2021 Chocolate Alliance Awards. 

The company’s Apple Walnut Caramel enrobed in milk chocolate won the gold, and its Chili-Peppered Passionfruit bonbons won a silver medal. The Chocolate Alliance is a nonprofit organization committed to equality and social justice in the cocoa and chocolate world, based out of Seattle, Washington.

At the Academy of Chocolate Awards, judged in London, St. Croix won two silver medals: one for its Orange Cardamom caramel sauce in the Caramels and Spreads category, and one for its Thai Peanut bonbon in the Filled Chocolates category. Additionally, the Black Forest bonbon won a bronze award for Filled Chocolates.

Launched in 2005, the Academy of Chocolate awards seek to identify, recognize and showcase the world's most talented chocolate producers and finest chocolate. The awards draw thousands of entries each year.

"This is the first year St. Croix Chocolate Company has entered these two competitions," said Robyn Dochterman, founder and chocolatier at SCCC. "I'm so delighted and honored that we did well in both contests. It really sends a message that we're on the right track, that we're making creative and delicious chocolates. And that is especially heartening given the challenges of the last year."

Dochterman founded St. Croix Chocolate Company in 2010. The company has won a national Good Food Award, a gold and silver in the International Chocolate Awards, a gold in the national Scovie Awards for hot foods, and numerous golds, including Best Overall Truffle, in the International Chocolate Salon Awards. It also won the Best New Dessert Sauce at the international Sofi (Specialty Food Association) Awards in spring 2021.

St. Croix Chocolate Company's mission is to delight customers with its premium chocolates, bonbons and caramel sauces. The company operates a brick-and-mortar shop in the village of Marine on St. Croix, about 35 miles from Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as an e-commerce site at stcroixchocolateco.com.