Friis-Holm Chocolate – Uncompromising Quality

By Rasmus Palsgård - Falstaff, August 2024

During his years as a chef, Mikkel Friis-Holm developed a deep passion for chocolate but was never satisfied with the quality and ethical standards behind its production. In 2008, he took matters into his own hands, creating Friis-Holm Chocolate, which today is recognized for producing some of the world’s finest chocolate—without the bitter taste of a guilty conscience.

It’s a quiet summer day in the rolling landscape of Herslev, outside Roskilde, where Vikings ruled over the surrounding fjords and seas more than a thousand years ago. Sadly for the Vikings, they couldn’t enjoy the floral, fruity, and sweet notes that greet visitors to the small factory that houses Friis-Holm Chocolate – Mikkel Friis-Holm’s culinary playground exuding curiosity and a desire to experiment.

His chocolate, Chuno, made from the Nicaraguan cacao variety of the same name, exemplifies the dedication to detail that drives Friis-Holm Chocolate. The Chuno bean comes in two variants: one is turned twice during fermentation, the other three times. A minor detail, yet it creates a difference. Chuno Triple Turned is soft, round, and warm with dark berry notes, while Chuno Double Turned offers more complexity with a hint of tannin, akin to red wine.

“It’s not about which is best but about appreciating their differences,” explains Mikkel Friis-Holm, who trained as a chef.

It was through his work in the restaurant industry, where he developed a fondness for desserts, that Mikkel Friis-Holm first encountered quality chocolate. After a review described his cooking as Californian in style, he was intrigued.

“I had never been to California, so it was a bit unusual to have my food compared to the cuisine there. I went over, worked at the restaurants Rubicon and Chez Panisse, and discovered how extraordinary chocolate as a raw ingredient could be. There I met chocolate makers John Scharffenberger and his partner Robert Steinberg, who were creating chocolate on a whole new level. We became friends, and they inspired me to start my own chocolate production.”

From Bean to Bar

The journey begins in the factory’s first room, where the foundation of the final product rests in sacks: fermented and dried cocoa beans. These are the basis for the chocolate bars and filled chocolates that have earned Mikkel Friis-Holm accolades worldwide, including numerous gold medals at the International Chocolate Awards for ten consecutive years. While it might seem obvious to have cocoa beans at a chocolate factory, it’s far from standard practice.

“Historically, there’s been a gap between chocolate makers and chocolatiers, which creates a disconnect between handling the raw ingredient and producing the finished bar or filled piece. As a final product maker, you quickly lose touch with the raw material and its origin. The entire philosophy behind Friis-Holm Chocolate is that I know every step of the production process, both to ensure quality and to guarantee ethical practices.”

This is why Mikkel Friis-Holm deals directly with the cocoa farmers. He believes it ensures the best quality and fosters a respectful collaboration with his suppliers.

“The problem in many cocoa-growing regions is that large chocolate producers prioritize quantity over quality. Cocoa is harvested by impoverished people and children who should be in school. Trees are diseased, and fermentation is uncontrolled. Farmers are paid by weight rather than quality, so stones and mold are often found in batches sent to large producers. Farmers have no incentive or financial means to care for their plantations properly, and children end up working instead of attending school,” says Friis-Holm.

“When I work directly with the farmers, it’s not about charity. It’s about showing them that their effort will earn them a better price for their cocoa, allowing them to create a better life for themselves and their families. We work with farmers who understand this value and help equip them with the knowledge to maintain healthier plantations and ensure the right fermentation. I’ve witnessed the prosperity of these farmers increase over the past 15 years,” he explains.

From Fresh Fruit to Usable Bean

The logistics at Friis-Holm Chocolate are arranged so that fruits are promptly collected and transported to a central location after harvest. Beans are sorted into one-cubic-meter boxes for fermentation, where temperature and pH levels are regularly measured, and beans are turned at different intervals, depending on the variety’s characteristics and the flavor profile Mikkel Friis-Holm wants in the finished chocolate.

“Raw cocoa can be intensely acidic and bitter. Fermentation smoothens out these sharp edges and makes the cocoa much more approachable in flavor. Fermentation should last five to six days; too short, and too much bitterness remains, while too long can push the flavor toward blue cheese,” Friis-Holm explains.

Then, the beans are dried. Friis-Holm Chocolate favors slow drying, which yields a more complex flavor.

“Quick drying would be easier and cheaper, but it’s worth the time, as the aroma and taste in the final chocolate are so much better. Fast drying erases too many nuances in the beans,” he says.

Similar to Wine

Mikkel Friis-Holm’s chocolate portfolio features a broad range of chocolates made from individual varieties, each with unique characteristics, leading to distinct flavors—an unusual approach in a market that primarily categorizes chocolate by dark, milk, or white.

“The chocolate world is at a stage of understanding similar to where wine was in Denmark in the ’70s, when people only distinguished between wines from France or Italy. Like wine, chocolate is heavily influenced by the cocoa variety and its origin. Among wine enthusiasts, it’s not only accepted but also celebrated that wines vary by region and grape. This is the story we want to tell, and that’s why we invest so much in planting new and exciting varieties.”

A Lengthy Process

While wine culture has centuries of tradition, chocolate, as we know it, is relatively new. Chocolate’s story begins about 5,000 years ago in South America, where people made a bitter, invigorating drink from dried cocoa beans. But it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that a moldable mass of cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and sugar was discovered. Chocolate bars became even more refined after Rudolf Lindt invented the conching machine in 1879, which stirs the chocolate in a heated tank. For Mikkel Friis-Holm, respecting this part of the process is crucial for achieving the best possible result.

“There are more ‘modern’ machines that do it faster, but certainly not better,” he says, standing by his conching machine, which looks more like an antique than a state-of-the-art device.

“This conching machine is 100 years old. I treat it like a classic car because it’s simply the best machine out there.”

It’s almost meditative to watch the shiny dark mass swirling in the old machine, like gentle waves on a calm summer day.

“It takes time to produce a quality product. My chocolates spend several days in grinding and conching machines to ensure the perfect grind and texture, giving the smoothest feel when it melts. It requires an in-depth understanding of what these machines do and the patience to let it take the time it needs.”

Tailored Chocolates

Friis-Holm’s strong focus on unique varieties and showcasing their differences has also made his chocolates popular with some of Denmark’s best restaurants, including Restaurant Jordnær, which received its third Michelin star in 2024. Chef Eric Kragh Vildgaard, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Tina Kragh Vildgaard, highlights the dedication and quality behind each chocolate bar.

“You can taste the dedication in Mikkel’s chocolates, and it makes sense to me that he’s been named the world’s best chocolatier multiple times. He pays attention to every detail in selecting his beans, skillfully bringing out the personality in each bean and batch.”

This same opportunity is available at Mikkel Friis-Holm’s workshop, where, in addition to pure chocolate bars, he also makes a range of filled chocolates often crafted with unique, sometimes Danish ingredients. We sample a piece with whisky from Danish producer Stauning. Far from evoking memories of overly sweet, mass-produced chocolate with liquid fillings, this piece has a chocolate shell made from the Johe variety, whose deep, dark chocolate flavor perfectly complements the intense whisky notes, transporting you into a dim cigar lounge with soft leather furniture and mature whiskey in the glass.

"Some of our filled chocolates we work on for more than a year before we feel they are just right. This includes, for example, the piece we developed in collaboration with Frederiksdal Cherry Wine. The easy choice would have been to make a filling with the cherry wine, but we chose to go all the way back to the beginning with the actual Stevnsbær cherries from Frederiksdal. We dried them and, at the same time, made a cherry stone-infused brandy in which we rehydrated the cherries. We also made a syrup from cherry juice, and only when the balance was perfect did we launch the piece."

Following the beaten path has never appealed to Mikkel Friis-Holm, who could have done many things the easier way, but not necessarily better, and that’s the essence of the project.

"When you really develop an interest in something and become skilled at it, you dive down a rabbit hole. It has become a mission for me to be part of this – to work with and help define what quality chocolate is and should be," says Mikkel Friis-Holm, who doesn’t regret for a second that he didn’t choose a more mainstream and easier path.

"It’s not fun to be moderately skilled at something. It’s more enjoyable to make a living from something you’re good at and that makes complete sense."

Six Selected Chocolate Bars from Friis-Holm

Nicaliso 70%
The Nicaliso beans come from northern Nicaragua. It melts with a delicate creaminess in the mouth and unfolds sweet notes of blueberries, dried fruits, and roasted grains, while the aftertaste offers a potpourri of warm spices. Achieving such fruity sweetness and elegance in a dark chocolate like this cements Friis-Holm’s high level.

Johe 70%
This variety also comes from Nicaragua and is believed to be the ancestor of the increasingly well-known Criollo variety from Venezuela. It smells of dark cocoa and reveals in the mouth a darker character than Nicaliso, with more roasted nuances and less acidity – a more classic expression of dark chocolate, yet still with the elegance that characterizes Friis-Holm's chocolates. This is the piece everyone will love.

Rugoso 70%
The beans for this bar are also from Nicaragua, but they have undergone a shorter fermentation, giving a more "wild" expression, making you feel as if I’m standing in the middle of a plantation with the raw material in hand. It has a lively acidity on the tongue, which harmonizes beautifully with fruity notes of plum and a hint of banana; a very exciting and at the same time delicate chocolate with a slightly more robust tannin structure, creating a vibrant mouthfeel.

Medagla Soy 70%
Friis-Holm has also expanded the repertoire with bars infused with added flavors, here in the form of dried first-class soy sauce from Yuasa in Wakayama Prefecture. The already quite savory chocolate with notes of herbs and spices gains extra depth and umami from the dried soy sauce flakes, which blend seamlessly with the chocolate in the mouth; a sublime chocolate for those seeking a "dry" chocolate experience.

Dark Milk 65%
Milk chocolate is generally considered less refined, but in the hands of Mikkel Friis-Holm, this category naturally reaches new heights as well. With a restrained sprinkle of milk powder, this still-dark chocolate takes a new turn, where the dark cocoa nuances are supported by full-fat cream and a note of toffee; a perfectly balanced chocolate with tannin, acidity, and sweetness.

White Nibs 40%
If milk chocolate is criticized, one barely dares to speak about white chocolate, but this is a truly brilliant bar of chocolate. It is made from organic cocoa butter from Ecuador with a completely pure buttery taste and a mild note of fruit, which blends perfectly with the roasted O’Payo nibs generously scattered into the white chocolate. These have a seductive character of banana and roasted nuts. This chocolate is meant to be chewed, but another way is to let the white chocolate melt in your mouth before savoring the pure taste of the delicious nibs.

See the article at Falstaff here