From São Tomé and Príncipe to the AVPA: vanilla at the heart of an international project

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When a vanilla variety captures the attention of an expert jury, an entire industry can reinvent itself. The story of São Tomé and Príncipe illustrates how recognition can become the starting point for international ambition

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In 2021, Juliette Dohar discovered the AVPA (Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products) and presented her organic vanilla production from São Tomé and Príncipe to a particularly demanding panel of experts. The award she received, a Gourmet Medal, marked an important milestone for this production.

This recognition is warmly welcomed by the producer members of the VANILHA project, an initiative dedicated to reviving the vanilla sector. The event is celebrated during an evening gathering bringing together the local French community as well as the French Consul. Its impact quickly extends beyond the agricultural sphere: local media report on it, and interest reaches even the highest levels of the state, as former President of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Manuel Pinto da Costa, visits the production workshop.

Driven by this momentum and by the dynamic created around this first recognition, Juliette Dohar aims to go further. Some time later, she proposes to the AVPA that they collaborate on the creation of an international contest dedicated to “Vanillas of the World”.

Beyond the Gourmet Medal, AVPA-organized contests make it possible to compare agricultural products using a rigorous approach and to distinguish them with medals ranging from gold to bronze. They thus serve as a genuine tool for highlighting agricultural production and know-how on an international scale.

This new vanilla-focused contest aims to showcase the richness and diversity of this spice, revealing the plurality of its terroirs, varieties, and aromatic expressions. It also seeks to offer consumers a renewed understanding of vanilla, moving away from a uniform perception and emphasizing the complexity and uniqueness of each origin.

✔ Preparatory work is currently ongoing, particularly on the development of tasting protocols, in collaboration with producers and distributors. This collaborative construction phase aims to establish a solid foundation to ensure the quality and relevance of the future contest dedicated to vanillas of the world

#AVPA #Gourmet #Certificação #Baunilha

#Terroir #Gastronomia #Produtores #Agricultura #Paris #Excelência #Qualidade