'Chocolate Princess of Bohol' champions the award-winning tablea

If you've been to Bohol and stayed at one of their beach resorts, chances are you've already tried their hot chocolate for breakfast.

Hot chocolate is a big part of the Boholano culture since many locals grow cacao in their backyards and produce tablea/tableya, which are round blocks of ground-up cacao beans.

Aside from being the main ingredient of the Boholanos' well-loved hot chocolate drink, the tablea from Bohol is also an award-winning chocolate product.

In 2013, Dalareich Polot, manager of Dalareich Chocolate, joined the chocolate pitching contest of the U.S. embassy and won the grand prize.

In her interview with iJuander, Dalareich shared the humble beginnings and the big wins of their tablea business.

She said it was her grandmother who pioneered their chocolate business, and it was later inherited and helmed by her mom.

After her 2013 win, Dalareich bagged a scholarship at the Ghent University in Belgium, where she furthered her know-how of the chocolate business.

She then went back home and used her knowledge and expertise to level up their business.

“When I went home, I told mama that 'We need to innovate our tablea and make this tablea known to the world,'” said Dalareich.

Dalareich Polot, the Chocolate Princess of Bohol / Source: iJuander

And in 2019, she was able to take their tablea from the wet markets of Bohol to a chocolate competition in London.

Out of all the 1,600 entries, their product won the gold at the 2019 Academy of Chocolate Awards.

“For me, that's really very important because I was able to bring the Philippine flag; at the same time, the traditional product that we have in the Visayas to the world.”

Indeed, their chocolate has become world-class as they have now established a factory called Dalareich Chocolate House, where products like Ginto chocolates are manufactured and exported to other countries like Japan and Australia.

The tableya produced by the Dalareich Chocolate House / Source: iJuander

And because of Dalareich's monumental achievements in business, she truly is deserving of the moniker “Chocolate Princess of Bohol.”

But aside from their successes in the chocolate business, Dalareich is also greatly involved in an advocacy that promotes and supports the local cacao industry.

Their chocolate company sources their cacao from local farmers.

Plus, Dalareich also spearheaded the program “Adopt a Cacao Tree and Save Bohol's Cacao Heritage.”

And just like the Chocolate Princess of Bohol, the iconic Bohol Beach Club is also among the establishments that support the local cacao farmers.

In a recent iJuander episode, they shared some of the recipes of their resort, which uses locally sourced cacao in Bohol as ingredients, such as the Filet Mignon with Gravy.

Watch and learn how to make this mouthwatering dish in the iJuander video below.

For more inspiring stories like this, watch iJuander every Sunday at 7:45 p.m. on GTV.

Viewers abroad can also watch iJuander via GMA's flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. For the program guide, visit www.gmapinoytv.com.

And for more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.

Speaking of Bohol, you might want to check out the gallery below of famous Boholano celebrities and personalities.