United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent time visiting Auro Chocolate Cafe, a local artisan cafe that helps local farmers and promotes Filipino cacao beans.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) at the Auro Chocolate Cafe (Photo from Blinken via X)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, July 31, the US Embassy in Manila showed photos of the secretary sampling the local and well-loved pan de sal.
“@SecBlinken dropped by @AuroChocolate Cafe for pasalubong and to try their famous chocolates and ube pandesal,” the post read.
“Founded by #FilAm entrepreneur Mark Ocampo and @UChicago alumna Kelly Go, Auro Chocolate empowers local farmers and promotes (the Philippines’) cacao beans. #PartnersInProsperity,” it added.
Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III were in Manila for the Fourth PH-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, which included meeting with President Marcos, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo for high-level foreign and defense talks.
In a separate post, Blinken said he stopped by the cafe at the end of his visit to Manila, where he also spoke with Ocampo.
“We talked about their work to uplift local farmers, and I of course got to try some of their delicious chocolate,” his post read.
According to its website, Auro Chocolate “is an internationally awarded tree-to-bar chocolate brand that promotes sustainability by working directly with local farmers to create fine Filipino cacao beans, ingredients and retail products with unique and bold tropical flavors.”
Shops are found not only in local malls and specialty shops, but also in Japan and Bahrain.
The co-founders, Go and Ocampo, grew up in the Philippines and first met in Chicago where they bonded over their love of food and culture.
Go studied Political Science and International Studies at the University of Chicago. She then attended Le Cordon Bleu Paris for Culinary Arts.
Ocampo first studied robotics before transitioning to design and advertising at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
They both took an immersive course at the ZDS Institute in Germany to learn more about chocolate production.