From Algeria to Guatemala, London, Boston, and Washington, DC, Aberrahmane ‘Ismael’ Neggaz has traveled the world, collecting flavors to craft his unique chocolates.
As the Chocolatier and co-owner of the Washington DC food company Chocotenango, Neggaz insists on controlling the quality of his chocolate from the first step to the last.
Or as he explains: “You take the beans, you roast them yourself, you grind them yourself – you make your own chocolate. That’s bean-to-bar.”
Ismael Neggaz Dove into Chocolate-Making
Born in Algeria, Neggaz’s career spans continents. He earned a Pastry Degree from Newbury College, studied sugar work under renowned confectioner Ewald Notter, and learned chocolate-making at L’Ecole Chocolate and Barry Callebaut’s Chocolate Academy.
Neggaz also learned every aspect of the culinary trade, both pastry and savory . He worked at some of the finest restaurants around the world, in London, Boston, and Washington. This experience put the budding chocolatier in the position to bring high-quality and unique ideas to his own chocolate-making.
His company, Chocotenango, offers chocolate lovers in metro Washington, DC a world of flavors. With signature bars titled “Maya,” “Arabian Nights,” “El Puro,” and “Zanzibar,” Neggaz forges a unique array of tastes.
Unique Chocolate Earns Ismael Neggaz Awards
Neggaz’s well-rounded education inspired him to take control of every step of the chocolate-making process in his own work. He describes the typical food creation process as a circle, in which one person knows only their one part of the process: One person roasts the beans. Another grinds them. A third mixes them.
Neggaz’s bean-to-bar philosophy is different. “Somehow, I have closed that circle,” he says. Taking control of the chocolate bar production has certainly worked for Neggaz. By monitoring every step of the creation process, he ensures that the final product is of the highest quality.
That commitment to quality, plus the unique flavors from his world-traveling background, has helped his chocolates garner international attention. In 2008, he earned a first place award at the International Gastronomy Festival of Guatemala. In 2015, his unique combination of nutmeg, red chili pepper, and sea salt earned him bronze at the International Chocolate awards.
Chocotenango Inspired By World Flavors
A self-described “global citizen,” Neggaz imbues his chocolate with the flavors that he picked up while traveling the world. Fluent in four languages, he has lived on four different continents: Africa, Europe, South America, and North America.
Neggaz’s chocolate company originated in South America – specifically, in Antigua, Guatemala. He derived the name from the Mayan word for “Place of” (“Tenango”) and “Chocolate” (“Choco”). Thus Chocotenango – “the Place of Chocolate” – was born.
For Neggaz, chocolate-making offers a way to ground himself in new environments. Every time he collects a new flavor and adds it to one of his sweet creations, he captures a fresh part of the world and makes it his own. His collection of flavors then travels along with him to upcoming destinations, bringing the old and the new together.
“In chocolate making,” he says, “I found a home.”
