CHEF ISMAEL NEGGAZ
Chocolatier and Co-Owner of Chocotenango Aberrahmane ‘Ismael’ Neggaz a native of Algeria, has been a professional chef since 1994. He started his career as a pastry chef in England, and went on to work in some of the finest restaurants and hotels in London, Boston and Washington, DC.
With a Pastry Arts degree from Newbury College, a Professional Chef’s Diploma from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and having studied sugar work under Chef Ewald Notter, and chocolate-making at L’Ecole Chocolate and Barry Callebaut’s Chocolate Academy, Ismael’s versatility and enhanced sense of taste is perfectly suited to the creative pursuit of chocolate making.
Chocotenango was born in Antigua, Guatemala in 2005 and means “The Place of Chocolate” and a sense of place and culture can be tasted in each chocolate creation. Chef Ismael derives his inspiration from the unique ingredients that make up local cuisines from around the world. Truly a global citizen, Ismael speaks four languages, has lived on four continents and has traveled extensively.
Currently based in the Langdon neighborhood of Washington DC, Chocotenango continues to combine creativity, passion, and the best ingredients to make internationally recognized Bean to Bar chocolate.