Promoting Philippine chocolate and talent on a global scale has become part of Auro’s mission as a company; with 54 awards under their belt, it is safe to say that they are achieving their goal with steady success. From selling their bars in supermarkets in Taiwan and cafes in Japan, to crafting chocolates for big-name brands, and engaging in a range of collaborations with restaurants, culinary talents, and bars around the globe, Auro has most definitely elevated the way Philippine chocolate is perceived. In fact, they recently opened an Auro Café in Bahrain.

For this particular initiative co-founder Mark Ocampo shared that he has been in talks with chef Kimberly Camara of Kora for around three years now. This Filipina co-founded Kora in the summer of 2020 with Kevin Borja. From her apartment kitchen in Woodside, Queens (also known as Little Manila), Camara and Borja infused Philippine traditions from their own backgrounds, with innovative flair gleaned from their F&B experiences. This passion project exploded; Kora soon had a wait-list for their sweet treats that was 800 people long–today, it has around 10,000 names.

“I loved what they were doing. It felt very aligned to what we’re trying to do with Filipino flavours so I thought it would be the perfect match,” Ocampo says. “Daniel and Kim already knew each other from the New York food scene, and I saw Daniel in School of Chocolate on Netflix and was immediately a fan of his work,” he adds.

See also: 7 Of The Best Filipino Chocolate Brands