St. Croix Chocolate Company’s macadamia bon bons sit in a tray on May 11, 2023. The chocolates earned the highest score in the “fillings” category and a gold award in the Americas division of the 2023 International Chocolate Awards and won bronze in the global finals. (Photo courtesy St. Croix Chocolate Company)

St. Croix Chocolate Company in Marine on St. Croix took home high honors at the recent International Chocolate Awards world finals.

The company, run by Robyn Dochterman, won a silver award for its burnt cinnamon and bourbon bar, which consists of — get this! — layers of real bourbon caramel and a ganache filling made by infusing flame-charred cinnamon sticks into cream, all inside brown butter milk chocolate.

They also won bronze for macadamia bon bons, which include macadamia blossom honey and brown butter macadamia shortbread cookies along with Venezuelan chocolate.

In the Americas division of the chocolate awards, announced in September, the bon bons earned the highest score in the “fillings” category and a gold award, which secured their spot in the global competition.

Robyn Dochterman of St. Croix Chocolate Co. (Courtesy photo)

Results of the International Chocolate Awards, the largest craft chocolate competition in the world, were announced Nov. 23 in Florence, Italy. Dochterman herself was not able to attend in person — she’s in the middle of the holiday rush, after all — but former employee Nathan “Fox” Eisinger and Scandia-based beekeeper Cathy Mackiewicz, who produces some of the honey Dochterman uses, accepted the awards on her behalf.

Dochterman, 61, formerly a journalist at the Star Tribune, launched St. Croix Chocolate Company in 2010.

“The wins that we’ve had reinforce, for me, that we’re doing it right,” she said in October, the day before she sent samples of her chocolates to Italy for judging. “And that we’re creating an experience for our customers that makes your eyes roll back in your head for a moment, that sort of stops time.”

She’s been entering her chocolates in competitions since the beginning, even when she knew she wouldn’t win, she said. How else would she discover the high-water mark in chocolate — and set goals to beat it? This was before you could just scroll through Instagram, she pointed out.

St. Croix Chocolate Company is based in a small building in Marine on St. Croix, as shown on Oct. 18, 2023. The company, run by chocolatier Robyn Dochterman, won a silver and bronze award at the International Chocolate Awards world finals in 2023. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

“When I first started entering contests, I was a hilarious failure,” she said. “But it helped me to see, here’s where I want to be. Now, how do I get there?”

Online orders are currently sold out, but you can buy Dochterman’s chocolates in person at her small production facility/retail store in Marine. Hours are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

St. Croix Chocolate Company: 261 Parker St., Marine on St. Croix; 651-433-1400; stcroixchocolateco.com.

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