My journey to becoming a renowned chocolatier began with my training as a chef and apprenticeship as a confectioner. I honed my skills as a pastry chef at the Colombi Hotel in Freiburg and with a German chocolatier in Mühlheim an der Ruhr. I then went on to work with a master confectioner at the master school in Cologne and as a business economist before competing in the German championship, where I won the title "German Chocolatier Master" in 2013. Representing Germany at the World Chocolate Masters in Paris, I placed 7th and it was then that I decided to fulfill my dream of starting my own chocolate shop. Today, I am proud to say that my brand, Kevin Kugel Chocolatier, is known for its outstanding quality, transparent manufacturing processes, and original chocolate taste. Recently, I was awarded the "State Prize for young companies" and I am one of the top 10 in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Each chocolate creation I make is lovingly handcrafted in our new headquarters in Sindelfingen.

I get a lot of inspiration from culinary excursions, including abroad when I travel, of course. For me, getting to know a country means above all experiencing the food culture there, and I always get new ideas and special inspiration for my own recipes. I usually come up with the most exciting creations when I'm calm. After that, I gradually develop the recipes further by sketching them out, trying them out and working them out to perfection. Different textures, an extraordinary design and a variety of flavours are important to me. And all this in accordance with the best ingredients.

One of my most important creations was certainly my dessert for the world championship of chocolatiers in Paris. For this I developed a wafer-thin chocolate ball with a wide variety of textures and temperatures in combination with perfectly coordinated tastes, which particularly fascinated the Spanish star chef Sergio Herman (member of the jury) when it was opened.

For all ingredients, sustainability is our top priority. Because the origin is particularly important to us, in addition to the Original Beans chocolate, we also make our own chocolate from the bean onwards. Many ingredients, such as herbs and fruit come from our own garden or our own fruit meadows and spirits are distilled within the family itself.

Of course, because the chocolate is sustainable and fair for the farmers, the rainforest is reforested with it, but also because the ingredients there are limited to chocolate, sugar and milk powder. Because there are no lecithins, aromas and other ingredients that do not belong in chocolate, so the focus is on the original taste of cacao.

Working with chocolate requires a lot of patience!

I look forward to working with the JRE Genussnetz and to getting to know more exciting people. A dream is one day to have your own cacao plantation.