Eleven chocolate companies and 11 confectionery companies were among the 114 companies recently honored during the third annual Good Food Awards Ceremony, held at San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building. They include:

Chocolates:
 

• Amano Artisan Chocolate, Chuao 70% Dark Chocolate, Utah
• Askinosie Chocolate, Dark Milk Chocolate Bar + Fleur de Sel, Missouri
• Dandelion Chocolate, Madagascar – 70%, California
• Fresco Chocolate, PNG 220, Washington
• Fruition Chocolate Inc., Dark Milk with Fleur de Sel, New York
• Madre Chocolate, Triple Cacao, Hawaii
• Patric Chocolate, 67% Madagascar Bar & 75% Madagascar Bar & In-NIB-itable Bar, Missouri
• Potomac Chocolate, Upala 70% Nib and Salt, Virginia
• Raaka Chocolate, Bourbon Cask Aged Bolivia, New York
• Ritual Chocolate, Costa Rica & Madagascar, Colorado
• Rogue Chocolatier, Hispaniola & Rio Caribe & Sambirano, Massachusetts

Confections:
 

• Arrowhead Chocolates, Huckleberry Truffle, Oregon
• Bees & Beans, Mint Bar, Oregon
• Big Picture Farm LLC, Goat Milk Chai Caramels, Vermont
• Escazú Artisan Chocolates, Dark Chocolate Basil Ganache, North Carolina
• Feve Artisan Chocolatier, Pistachio Rosemary Caramel, California
• Her Coconess Confections, Vanilla Bean Salted Caramels, California
• Lillie Belle Farms, The Most Awesome Chocolate Bar EVER!, Oregon
• Looking Glass Creamery, Carmelita, North Carolina
• Serendipity Confections, Fleur de Sel Butter Caramels, Colorado
• Sweetdragon Baking Company, Black Sesame Brittle, California
• Zoë’s Chocolate Co., Sesame Tahini Crunch, Pennsylvania

“More than in past years, I am blown away by how delicious everything is,” says Good Food Awards Director Sarah Weiner. “There is no doubt that this is the most impressive group of Good Food Award winners to date, and it is a true reflection of what is happening around the country.”   

To win the companies had to show that their products were delicious and made with integrity.

“When I started Patric Chocolate in 2006, there were essentially no craft chocolate makers in the U.S.,” says Alan McClure, with Patric Chocolate..  “What I mean to say is that we had no small, independently held [bean-to-bar] chocolate-making companies driven by the passion of a skilled craftsperson… As the movement continues to grow, I have heard that there may be 50 or more of us in the U.S. as of 2013.”

In addition to the recognition, the winners also got a chance at some immediate sales. An estimated double the number of last year’s visitors - several thousand - attended for the opportunity to taste and buy from eighty of this year's Good Food Award Winners.

And, prior to the Good Food Awards Ceremony, the Good Food Merchants Guild hosted a week of gatherings, bringing together diverse stakeholders to share experiences, build networks, and discuss the roles of Good Food businesses within the bigger picture of the food movement and the American economy.

The complete list of 2013 Good Food Awards Winners can be found here.