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This weekend (November 9-11) saw The Chocolate Show in New York City. The show is organized by Event International, the company that organizes the Salon du Chocolat in Paris and more than 15 other cities around the world. New York is the only location that does that does not incorporate the Salon du Chocolat brand into the name.

I like The Chocolate Show for a number of reasons, including the fact that it brings out the core of the NY chocolate community every year while bringing people to the city that I only get to see once or twice a year.

The New York show comes on the heels of the Salon du Chocolat in Paris (Oct 31 - Nov 4) and at the same time as the Salon du Chocolat in Lyon. I mention this as a preface to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Three major shows in a two-week period is a lot of work and to some extent this was reflected in the organization and depth of offerings here at the New York show. For example, there was no opening fashion show and the show was shortened from its conventional four days to three. The show site suggests that visitors could expect 150 participants. The official show program lists about 55 exhibitors, a number that might be increased 50% if all of the speakers and presenters over the three days are also counted, so 150 participants was a stretch.

The conflict of timing also meant that some prior Chocolate Show participants from France did not make it this year, notably Franois Pralus (who was represented by his US distributor, though not with the variety of product that ended up being shown in Lyon, which is only an hour from Pralus' headquarters in Roanne).

But the big wrench in the works was undoubtedly Hurricane Sandy. The number of exhibitors - local, national, and international - was reduced by more than a dozen. Some of the exhibitors' businesses - notably NYC's Fika Choklad - were inundated by the hurricane. Other companies had trouble changing travel plans in the wake of the hurricane and the Nor'easter that dumped up to four inches of snow on Wednesday, less than 48 hours before the start of the show. Mott Green, of the Grenada Chocolate Company, mentioned that his flight to NY from Grenada was canceled. He was able to get a flight to Trinidad and catch a red-eye to NYC from there, otherwise he would have been late or missed the show entirely. Sorely missed were Guittard, probably the most consistent exhibitor at The Chocolate Show over its history.

On the flip side, Maricel Presilla (author of the must-owns The New Taste of Chocolate and Gran Cocina Latina ) whose Hoboken, NJ-based restaurant Cucharamama and Latin grocery store Ultramarinos suffered significant storm damage, was able to staff a booth at the last minute. I saw her on Saturday morning when she told me that she left the show on Friday to return to Hoboken to reopen Cucharamama for service Friday evening. No small feats. Maricel was also serving grand chicken mol tamales on Saturday - a real treat. Maricel is a hugely valuable asset to the NY chocolate community, and if you have never been to Cucharamama, now is the time to go in support. (It's okay to go to New Jersey if you have any prejudices about it. It's not difficult to get to Hoboken on the PATH, and it's less than a 15-minute walk from the PATH to the restaurant. I've been there on several occasions and the food, drinks, and hospitality are never less than first rate.)

In addition to the weather having a visible impact on the exhibitor presence, the storm also had a huge effect on attendance. Friday was a very slow day compared with recent years, and Saturday, which started out with a rush, was noticeably beginning to slow down by the time I left, around 1:30. When I arrived at 10:30 there was no line when last year the line was hundreds of people deep. I did not go today, so I won't know how attendance stacked up until someone checks in with me. It's not clear if this year's weather problems will have an impact on next year's show. Certainly the organizers can't bear any blame for the weather, but the reduced number of exhibitors may be remembered by show regulars (who were heard to balk at the ticket prices), and exhibitors may remember the comparatively poor attendee turnout. Only time - and a 2103 show - will tell.

Pacari - the surprise runaway winner at the recent International Chocolate Awards - was in the Ecuador booth and featured founder Santiago Peralta whose travel schedule included returning to Ecuador after the Amsterdam Origin Chocolate conference then returning to Paris for the Salon du Chocolat before coming to NYC. Also in the Ecuador booth were Kallari with their new line of Sacha chocolate bars:

The other major bar introduction came from West Chester, PA-based Eclat. Their Good & Evil bar - which retails for $18 - is made using beans sourced in the Maraon River valley of Peru. These are not exactly the same beans used to make Fortunato #4, but they are sourced in the same general area. (The chocolate itself is manufactured in Switzerland, as is Fortunato #4, not in West Chester.)

The percentage is 4% higher than Fortunato #4, and the bar contains nibs, so it's not possible to compare the chocolate in the Good&Evil bar with the Fortunato, which is something I would like to do. The other feature of Good&Evil is the collaboration of two very well-known chefs, Eric Ripert (of Le Bernardin) and Tony Bourdain (author of Kitchen Confidential, and TV host) - Christopher Curtin (the third name on the bar) is the founder of Eclat. Neither Bourdain nor Ripert are known for their skills with chocolate, but there is no doubt that this celebrity co-branding will increase sales and make the $18 price tag more palatable to more people.

And that's it for today. I am catching a train to Stamford, CT shortly to attend the grand opening celebration for Fritz Knipschildt's Chocopologie.

To All Members of TheChocolateLife:

I was thinking this morning about the ways in which the ChocolateLife community might be able to aid in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. And not just aid ChocolateLife members who make their livings making chocolate, but also people whose lives have been been tossed upside down and inside out who are in need of assistance.

After all, I know that there are ChocolateLife members up and down the East Coast that were within the path of the storm and many of them had to be affected one way or another - and right during the busiest time of the year. While I was not too terribly affected by Sandy, many people in my community were: I am right on Long Island Sound near the New York/Connecticut border. I have neighbors and friends who have suffered damage and bodily harm and who are still without power and other basic services.

I was happy, then, to be contacted by Renee Rohrbach and Ricky Sanders of Madison West Chocolatiers, in New Jersey, who let me know that they have started an on-line fundraiser (don't forget to "like" this page if you have a Facebook account) and they will donate all of the proceeds from sales to two beneficiaries near them in New Jersey: The Salvation Army and to a local fiery food producer (Ed Buchholtz of Born to Hula Hot Sauce) who suffered significant damage to home and business in the storm. Renee let me know that they did not survive the hurricane unscathed, but want to do something to help.

Here's how it works:

1) Go to the Madison West Chocolatiers Facebook store on or before November 16th.

2) Purchase any one or more of the following three items at the wholesale price ( the listed price is the wholesale price and each of the bars serves 6-10 people, usually) on or before November 16th for delivery by Thanksgiving:

-- Pumpkin Spice Bar
-- Raspberry Truffle Bar
-- Shooting Star Bar (ganache is made with a hybrid Ghost/Scorpion pepper - very hot!)

There is no direct link to each product on the catalog page. Scroll down to the bottom of the store where the items are listed, or search using your browser's in-page text search feature.

3) 95% of the proceeds of each sale (which Renee tells me is the difference between cost of manufacture and wholesale price) will be donated to the designated recipients . The proceeds from the Pumpkin Spice and Raspberry bars will go to the Salvation Army and the proceeds from the Shooting Star bar will go to Ed Bucholtz.

4) Tweet the following link to this page, along with your own message using the #chocolate hashtag and @DiscoverChoc handle to spread the message far and wide: http://goo.gl/7qEtn

Note) Purchases do not count as tax-deductible contributions.

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO

A) If you, or someone you know, is offering a chocolate-related Hurricane Sandy relief special, please add the details as a comment to this page. (That's why I want you to tweet the link to this page, so people can be informed of special offers members of the chocolate community, not just the ChocolateLife community, are making to aid Sandy relief efforts.

B) Don't just buy for yourself, buy early holiday gifts for friends and family.

C) Add Hurricane Sandy chocolate to your Thanksgiving menu and reflect on the gift of chocolate and the gift of community on Thanksgiving day.

Thank you all,
:: Clay

Three weeks ago I was in London to be at Chocolate Unwrapped for the second year. This year a new location Covent Garden; more stands, talks, demonstrations and visitors! A few years ago this event was set up to promote fine flavour chocolate, artisan chocolatiers and chocolate companies who work in direct partnership with the cocoa farmers. And I must say: they succeeded!

I arrived Friday before the event. Because I was not be able to go to Paris this year I went straight to La Maison Du Chocolats store at Picadilly to get some French stuff. See the first picture below of pastries Dlice and Andalusie and some chocolates.

Saturday I was the whole day selling Original Beans bars at Unwrapped. Besides the bars we had also gorgeous macarons made by On Cafe with Cru Virunga ganache (picture 2). There were a lot of exhibitors from last year. New this year: Italian Antica Dolceria Bonajuto and Donna Elvira, Chocolate Nave, Enric Rovira, Menakao and Duane Dove of Tobago Cocoa Estate chocolate. His stand was very colourful with all the different pods he brought with him (picture 3). My favorite chocolatier Damian Allsop had a beautiful box with Cru Virunga water-based ganaches (pictures 4 and 5). Wow, these are taste bombs!

Dominican Republic is the main exportator of organic cacao in the world. There is a lot of great cacao produced here but not too many people to prepare a great chocolate out of it.

If everything runs well we will be opening one of our ChocoMuseo in Bvaro, Punta Cana on the 15th of November.

For those who never visited us in one of our other ChocoMuseo in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Per, we will be teaching people about cacao and its artisanal process to be transformed in chocolate. As all the ChocoMuseo, this one will count with its own artisanal chocolate factory, a cacao and chocolat museum and a caf with different chocolate drinks.

We will offer mainly two different activities:

• 2 hours bean to bar chocolate workshop where people learn all the steps from the cacao tree to the chocolate bar and leave the class with its own chocolates
• half-day tour in the cocoa plantation in Dominican Republic and demo of how chocolate is made from the cocoa beans

Our main goal is for people to know more about good chocolate and good cacao.

So, if like me, you love cacao and chocolate then spread the word and eat as much chocolate as you can.

More information soon on cacao in Dominican Republic.

Check out the album of photos .

Traveling to Amsterdam

I have only ever been to the airport in Amsterdam before - Schipol - changing planes 'twixt here and there. So I was looking forward to spending a few days to learn and explore.

I know why I took the early train from London (8:05am out of St Pancras) - cost. The next train was more than double the price, even though the Brussels/Amsterdam leg was a local train. Taking the express from Brussels cut an hour off the travel time at a cost of more than 100 Euros more. And, at an exchange rate of US$1.45 to 1.00 - it adds up quickly.

I like to take trains in Europe to see the countryside, and the views from my seat between Brussels and Amsterdam did not disappoint. Canals, canal boats, windmills, carefully tended fields, all fit my idea of what the country would look like. Even the tram ride from the station to the hotel looked like I imagined it should.

A good thing I got to sightsee when I did, because that was basically all I got to see of Amsterdam - the rest of the time was spent in the hotel, at the venue located right next door to the hotel, or in-between, dodging rain drops.

I did get to do a little socializing with new Amsterdam friends Leslie and Erik Spande, owners of a local chocolate shop specializing in fine chocolate brands including many craft bar brands from the US. Erik and I share a connection to Portland, OR and craft beers as well as to chocolate, so we got along famously, and he met me in my hotel and we walked over to a local craft brewery (see the photo album) where we tried three of the excellent brews. Along the way we were joined by Erik's wife Leslie before heading out to a tapas restaurant - Pata Negra - right across from the hotel for a number of small plates and a pitcher of surprisingly good Sangria. I could not indulge too much or stay out too late as I learned I had been scheduled for an early morning video interview. So, I did not go out to explore the infamous Amsterdam nightlife.

The Conference

The conference was organized in an unusual way, over the course of two days. The first day was open to chocolate professionals and the second day was open to the general public. There was a small number of tabletop exhibitors sampling and selling products, and an identical conference speaker program twice each day. One program ran from 1pm to 5pm, the other program ran from 7pm to 11pm. There were four pairs of speakers in each of two rooms. In the first half of the section I was in, Sepp Schnbchler, the head of R&D for Felchlin and Philipp Kaufmann of Original Beans spoke. The second half of the section saw me paired with Mott Green of the Grenada Chocolate Company. Other speakers in other sections included Santiago Peralta (Pacari), Bertil Akesson (Akesson's Organics), Maricel Presilla, and Martin Christy (seventypercent.com), plus two others from the local chocolate community and the host organization, the Tropical Institute.

From a participant perspective, I can see how this arrangement works, especially adding a discrete evening session after the work day. This is a very young conference (this is the second year), and this (Amsterdam) is a location with a very passionate and concerned audience interested in learning about fine foods and chocolate - and is a city that has a long historical connection with cacao in a country that is the still the largest processor of cacao (grindings). From a speaker perspective, it was not as interesting as it could have been and I would have appreciated the opportunity to hear some of the other presenters. That said, however, there is value in seeing the same presentation over and over as the presenter is forced to make it new and interesting each time for themselves.Listening to several of the speakers crystallized in me a new writing project idea, which I am still working on outlining. As it becomes clearer in my head and closer to happening, I will let everyone know.

And each time the speakers revealed something different, and responded to different questions, so I learned something new each time I sat through each presentation.I know I was forced to alter my presentation slightly each time I gave it, to make it new and interesting for me each time. My presentation was a 30-minute version of the talk I gave earlier this year to the Experimental Cuisine Collective in NYC, How Chocolate Gets Its Taste . That talk was originally 90 minutes, so cutting it down to 30 while still presenting the essence was a challenge. By the time I gave it the fourth time I felt extremely comfortable with it. I did have another agenda for giving the talk as I am working on turning it into an eBook that I hope to have available for sale by the end of the year or in early 2013 at the latest.

Given the conference schedule and ancillary responsibilities (interviews), the days were very long and exhausting. I very much appreciated being asked to participate and I hope to be asked back next year. Not content to rest (on my laurels or anything), after the program ended on Wednesday, I assisted the Vercruysses in loading out and traveled with them to Kortrijk, where they live and where there shop is. I would be spending the night (or, more correctly, what was left of it), then catching a train to Brussels the next morning to visit Pierre Marcolini and Laurent Gerbaud.

Here's to Living The Chocolate Life,
:: Clay

PS.I did have an idea for chocolate tourism in Holland and Belgium that I look to be partnering up in, so stay tuned for that!

Does anyone know of a source for a wall calendar with chocolate as its theme? They have them for everything else - dogs, cats, sailboats, guitars, mountains - everything - but I've never seen one for chocolate. Any suggestions?

Check out the photo album from the weekend. [ Note: I am working on a new approach to blogging, which is to put all the photos in an album and to write detailed notes for each photo. Blog entries cover topics not shown in the photos. ]

Featuring well over 50 exhibitors this year from all over the world and representing a wide variety of styles of chocolate and confectionery, Chocolate Unwrapped is the ultimate event on the Chocolate Week calendar each year.

Chocolate Week itself this year comprised over 350 different events that took place all over the UK, making it the most extensive and inclusive chocolate festival in the world. Rather than focusing on getting a small number of exhibitors into a hall and charging people for the privilege of tasting, Chocolate Week showcases the variety of work being done in chocolate in the UK - in their places of business - making it unique among chocolate festivals.

In addition to featuring over 50 exhibitors, there are both demo and tasting programs, and I was in London not only to speak to the Academy of Chocolate on Friday but to give a presentation in the tasting room on Sunday.

Admission to Chocolate Unwrapped is a modest 10 with a widely available discount coupon, ensuring a steady stream of visitors that - fortunately - did not at any time feel overwhelming. The location, the new home of the London Film Museum, is right around the corner from Covent Garden and a short walk from the Savoy Hotel.

One of the things that impressed me about Chocolate Unwrapped - which has matured immensely from it's start in 2008 - is its diversity an inclusiveness. There are chocolatiers and chocolate makers from all over Europe and beyond not just the UK and they range from established mainstream companies (both national and international) to small startups. This year included a trio of companies from Italy, one from Spain, two from the Caribbean, one from Denmark, one from Nigeria, one from Madagascar, and even one from the US and the speaker roster in the demo and tasting program is also diverse.

What's also amazing is the quality brands that are attracted with stand that are not just managed by sales staff but by the chocolatiers and confectioners themselves. So not only is there the opportunity to sample and purchase chocolate, but also to talk directly to the people who make what you're tasting, gaining some pretty deep insight into the passion that drives them to do what they do.

I have said before that I think London has the most dynamic chocolate scene on the planet: it certainly overshadows anything New York has to offer. I was impressed with what I saw at the NW Chocolate Festival and I think that the show might grow to rival Chocolate Unwrapped eventually , especially because of its focus on putting together an extensive and very high-quality educational program. But Seattle does not have easy access to the broad spectrum of producers that London has.

I think, in part, that Chocolate Week has played an important part of this perception of the London chocolate scene, along with the commitment of some key companies and people, which include members of the Academy of Chocolate.

I definitely enjoyed my four days here in London and the two days at Chocolate Unwrapped, and on one hand I will be sad to leave in the morning, though I am very much looking forward to traveling to Amsterdam tomorrow - my first time there - and participating in the Origin Chocolate conference on Tuesday and Wednesday. Many of the people I spent time with here in London will be in Amsterdam (and at least three of them were in Seattle, too!), and I am looking forward to meeting in person people I have known of for some time but have never met in person.

My next blog entry will be from Amsterdam. My luggage is getting heavier, not lighter, each day. I now have about 2.5 kilos more chocolate than I started out my trip with.

Friday dawned just as many days do in London, chill and damp.

Still, I am in London where it is warmer than New York, and by the time I make my way from the Sloane Square tube stop to Piccadilly and make my way to the Royal Automobile Club (venue for the Second Academy of Chocolate conference) the sun is shining and I am very much looking forward to the day even though I was too rushed to have coffee before leaving my hotel

The first thing you'll notice when walking into the RAC is that it's not like walking into a AAA office in the States! There is history here and the building shows this history in a very British way. Not only that, but we were informed the previous night that proper attire (jacket and tie, no sneakers) would be required in order to gain entry. I wavered at the last minute about bringing a tie and ended up not bringing one. In the end, however, it turned out to be a non-issue and I was admitted without being questioned about my attire.

There is no equivalent to the Academy of Chocolate in the US. The AoC is a small non-profit organization founded with the mission of promoting fine chocolate. And it has a patron, Michel Roux, OBE.

The conference was well attended - I estimate that there were over 100 people in the room, including a large number of students. Attendance was international, drawing people from Europe, the US, Caribbean, and Central and South America. What excited me most was the company I was in. Tony Lass and Robin Dand were on the panel starting the day off, the speaker roster did not diminish in quality as the day went on, and there were notable attendees who were not speakers. The group at my table included Duffy Sheardown (of Duffy's Chocolate) and Chantal Coady, founder of Rococo.

Issues Facing the Industry

The first session was on the topic of issues facing the industry, and featured Robin Dand and Tony Lass (representing the International Cocoa Initiative), with Freek van der Knaap of Barry Callebaut. The session set a framework for the rest of the day.

As the author of The International Cocoa Trade , Robin talked about the divide between the producer (who for the most part does not consume chocolate) and the consumer (who does not produce chocolate), as well as the market mechanisms underlying pricing, in particularly the difference between the formal market (which encompasses most of the bulk cocoa and is the basis of the commodity price) and informal market (which encompasses all direct trade, is private, and for which the participants, prices, and volumes are not known). I have a copy of the first edition of Dand's book, and I found his presentation to provide some insight into areas that I still had an incomplete understanding of, particularly how and where prices get set.

Tony Lass then followed by presenting an official Powerpoint produced by ICI on the subject of child labor and forced labor in West Africa, which he prefaced in a way that suggested that he did not agree with all of what was contained in the presentation. It was a very diplomatic presentation which included one of the best and most nuanced discussions of what constitutes child labor and what does not that I have heard. There is a tendency to focus on the most sensationalist aspects of child labor in cocoa, ignoring the fact that the problem is not solely found in the cocoa and chocolate industries. While any form of forced and dangerous labor is a bad thing, the underlying causes are not as simplistic as many would make them out to be, and the solutions are even more complex ... and not limited to cocoa and chocolate. The industry has a hand in perpetuating the problem by not addressing it in a meaningful way, but they can only be a partner in the solution, not the sole cause or cure.

Frank van der Kneep then followed with a presentation on key market drivers and trends, including some news about Barry Callebaut's efforts in creating high-flavanol chocolate and getting EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) approval to make a health benefit claim for same. Certainly, the health benefits of cacao and chocolate are key drivers and trends for chocolate makers and consumers, but I don't know that it's an issue of the same import as child labor.

Cocoa, Cocoa Genetics, and Cocoa Growing

The second panel was on the topics of cocoa genetics and cocoa growing, and featured Craig Sams (founder of Green and Black's), Frank Homann (founder of Xoco), and Santiago Peralta (founder of Pacari). Craig did not speak about cocoa genetics directly, but about the history of Green and Black's, about some of the chemical composition of cocoa, and about compounds called vallinoids, which are found in chocolate and play a role in our perception of chocolate (and other) flavors. Frank Homann talked about Xoco's work in identifying, propagating, and processing interesting strains of "heirloom" beans. The main points of the talk were that science has not identified the genes or gene complexes associated with flavor, and that even minor variations in cacao phenotypes (the visual characteristics of a pod, for example) can signal huge differences in chemical makeup which would lead to very different post-harvest processing requirements. The corollary is that when a fermentation pile includes a broad mix of pod phenotypes, sub-optimal fermentation for the majority of means will occur. Santiago Peralta talked about Pacari's work in Ecuador, most specifically about their experiences with biodynamic farming, which has resulted in dramatic increases in production and yield as well as improvements in the flavor of the beans being grown. There was also group discussion about the influences of the environmental aspects of terroir on taste, with surprising disagreement among the panel about the contribution of terroir to taste.

Traceability

After a break to fortify ourselves with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, the next panel tackled the issue of traceability in the supply chain. Panelists were Tony Lass, Bertil Akesson (Akesson's), and Mott Green (Grenada Chocolate Company). Tony's presentation covered the complexities of the modern supply chain for large multinational companies, as well as revealing some absurdities that exist that are not well known. For example, in Ghana, the cocoa board has a system in place for identifying the specific origin (down to the farm) of beans that includes sealing sacks under the watch of an examiner and uniquely identifying each sack, a process that buyers pay for. However, at the port, the bags are opened and commingled in containers of multiple tons thereby losing their traceability to the farm. Mott Green operates what might be the shortest supply chain in the world, operating a chocolate company in-country where the growers contribute beans to the cooperative, are paid for the beans, and receive a share in the profits of the sale of the chocolate made from those beans. GCC's 2012 Fair Transport experience shortened the supply chain to the consumer by delivering finished chocolate, by sailboat, directly to GCC's distributor in London, and every bar on that boat was identified with a sticker so that consumers can immediately identify those products. Bertil straddles the middle ground, as a plantation owner (in the lower Sambirano valley in Madagascar) who sells beans to many fine chocolate makers as well as having chocolate made for his own brand by Pralus. For fine chocolate makers, a purchase through Akesson means they have a short, traceable, supply chain because of the lack of intermediaries who might adulterate the supply.

Sensory Session and Tasting

The panel on tasting was moderated by Sarah Jane Evans (one of the very small number of people who hold the Master of Wine certification) and including Damian Allsop, William Curley, and Claire Clarke. A plate of four different chocolates was set at each table - all made with beans from Madagascar. The format was for everyone in the room to taste one of the chocolates, with the panelists providing their impressions followed by feedback from the room. The four chocolates cames from Cluizel, Valrhona (Manjari), Felchlin, and Amedei. Not surprisingly, all were complete different and some did not have the "typical" profile of Madagascan beans. (Bertil expanded on the genetics/terroir discussion from the earlier panel saying that there were major differences in taste - from the same rough genotypes - between beans grown in the upper Sambirano Valley and beans grown in the lower Sambirano Valley, in his experience, which accounts for part of the difference in taste -- beans from the lower Sambirano Valley exhibit more of the bright citrus/tropical fruit acidity typically associated with Madagascan beans.) For me, Damian Allsop's description of the Manjari was most evocative, speaking to his deep familiarity with the chocolate. For other chocolates that he was not as familiar with, the length and detail in the description paled in comparison. It's quite interesting the role memory plays in our perception - and articulation - of a chocolate (or indeed any other food or beverage).

The end of this panel signaled time for lunch, also a time to mingle and network.

Growing Pains: Scaling Up

The first panel after lunch was composed of a quintet of confectioners, Amelia Rope, Claire Burnet, Paul A Young, Claire Gallagher, and Angus Thirwell, on the topic of growing pains and scaling up. This panel ended up talking more about the core elements of brand identity of each company and how they contribute to the kinds of decisions that need to get made as growth occurs and less about specifics of scaling. All of the panelists agreed that money, space, and staffing issues are key to managing growth successfully, and that the particulars of location and other factors will influence the problems that crop up as well as the solutions to those problems.

The Future of The Chocolate Market

The topic for the final panel of the day was the future of the chocolate market. Moderated by Chantal Coady, the panel consisted of Chloe Doutre-Roussel, Yolande Stanley (an educator at Westminster Kingsway college), and myself. Chantal started off by providing a framework for thinking about the future. Chloe's topic was Brasil, and she covered the recent history of Brasil (it's change from being a major producer in the 1980s to just beginning to recover now, 30 years later) as well painting a picture of the current cacao culture in Brasil, which might be one of the most dynamic in the world. There is a great deal of work on the farm level (much of it done by people who are losing money on the cocoa and are being supported by other business interests), as well as in the design and manufacturing of small-scale machinery, and a can-do attitude towards improving production. While not at former levels, Brasil is now one of the top five producers in the world, and determined to grow. Yolande Stanley talked about education, and more specifically the program at Westminster Kingsway, working to train the next generation of chocolatiers and pastry chefs. In addition to having a formal program working in chocolate (and not just working with chocolate as a part of pastry, which is more common), they are also installing a bean-to-bar chocolate lab and will be teaching the processes involved to interested students as a foundation for their more conventional course of study in chocolate. This is a move I think other programs should follow, as knowledge of ingredients is key to using them. Working only with finished chocolate actually does pastry and baking students a disservice and does not treat the ingredient with the same level of interest as, say, flour, eggs, or many dairy ingredients.

I was in the enviable position of being the last speaker of the day, with the topic, "The future of chocolate on a global scale" (no small topic). I worried about this topic a lot in the week running up to the conference, and made a series of sets of talking points with which to deliver my talk. When I realized I was going last, I stuffed my notes in my bag and concentrated on what the rest of the presenters had to say, determined to create a closing narrative that tied together key points made throughout the day by the other speakers, followed by a call to action to the participants.

Robin Dand started out the day by talking about the two worlds of producers and consumers. I extended that analogy to other gourmet foods; that the divide between the two worlds was a result, in part, of the physical distance separating them. In most other gourmet foods, the finished product is made within a few miles of where the major ingredient is grown, whereas most fine chocolate is made thousands of miles away from where the cacao is grown. By extension, the concept of terroir must be extended to include post-harvest processing techniques unique to each producing region.

The second point I made was to talk about the fundamental conflict of interest that public corporations have. Their primary purpose is to maximize shareholder return. One way to do that is to make sure that raw materials prices are as low as possible. Thus the chocolate and cocoa industry is not truly interested in helping farmers as that would increase the cost of raw materials. They use NGOs cynically to show that they are addressing the problem (i.e., making consumers pay to "fix" the problem they created and perpetuate) while at the same time engaging in practices that ensure that no substantive changes occur.

The third point I made is that the pricing dynamics of chocolate are different from other gourmet foods, in part because chocolate does not improve with age, there is no collector market for chocolate, and that chocolate is too cheap, on average, to support "serious" education and criticism by people who can earn a good living solely by educating people about chocolate and rating and reviewing chocolate like wine, beer, and other gourmet foods.

After making these observations, I issued a series of calls to action to the group, challenging us to actually do something when we left the room and not let the energy dissipate. In other words, how was the information shared during the course of the day going to be used to effect change in the cocoa and chocolate markets.

The first call to action was to work on expanding the PDO (protected designation of origin) system (aka, AOC, DOC) to cacao. Every cocoa producing country should develop a working system of naming to identify growing areas and protecting the use of those names. At the moment, there are only a small handful of protected names, the most famous of which is Chuao.

The second call to action was the creation of a formal training program in chocolate connoisseurship and education, perhaps not as extensive as a Master of Wine, but leading to an internationally-recognized certificate. This should be accompanied by a standard chocolate judging protocol for competitions. In order to support the certification process I pointed out that it was not useful unless it also conferred an economic benefit (that is, people could make money by earning one). I used the metaphor of the $100 bar of chocolate to try to get this across. One of the reasons why there are Masters of Wine is that there are $5000 bottles of wine. If all there was was jug Chablis and $3 bottles there would be no economic need for sommeliers. However, because there are very expensive wines, there is the need for people to understand and educate people about them. Chocolate won't be able to support a generation of professional "chocolate sommeliers" until there are very expensive chocolates that are not novelties.

Finally, I suggested that there is a need to adopt a working definition of sustainability. What does "sustainable cocoa" actually mean? Over the past year I have been trying to articulate one and presented my thinking to the group, a definition with three pillars:

Environmental sustainability means that the trees, and their supporting and dependent ecosystems will be around in 100 years.

Economic sustainability means that there will be people who see cocoa farming as a viable way to make a living and support their families in 100 years.

Social sustainability means that the communities in which the farmers live will be around, viable, and dynamic 100 years from now.

Underlying the above three points - and this is a point that was made in the movie Nothing Like Chocolate about Mott Green and the Grenada Chocolate Company is there has be a sense of fairness, equity, and balance in the system. The farmer, the chocolate maker, and the chocolate consumer must all feel that they are being treated fairly and that one partner in the chain is not taking unfair advantage of them. If there is inequity in the system, it cannot be truly sustainable.

Direct Cocoa

Afterwards, a small group of us went to a nearby pub for a drink before attending an event announcing the launch of a new initiative, Direct Cacao, which seeks to create an alternative to existing fairtrade systems for cocoa and chocolate. It's not exactly clear to me, yet, how this is going to be achieved - and it's something I have been working on for over a year now under the name CocoaAssure. I hope to get a chance to talk at length with Direct Cocoa co-founder Martin Christy of seventypercent.com while we are together in Amsterdam next week. Right now he's busy with Chocolate Unwrapped over the weekend.

Chocolate Unwrapped

I am going to Chocolate Unwrapped tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday - and will be giving a presentation (tasting) on Sunday. The next blog (which will include pictures) will be after I get back from Chocolate Unwrapped. I may not finish it in London but will on the train to Amsterdam, in which case it will get posted Monday evening.

Hi all....

I was wandering if any panners are making your own glaze? I had a recipe at one time which included corn syrup, sugar, acacia and water but never had any luck with it. I wascuriousas to others experience with similarrecipes...

Also.... how do your recipes compare to a product such as Capol? Are you getting a perfect polish every time? how much time does it take you to polish a batch?

thanks...

Jeremy

As consumers, we are so demanding, sometimes fixated, in knowing where our water, milk, fish, meat, cheese, fruits, spirits, etc, originate. As an example, we are willing to pay $15, 20, 25 or more for a pound of prime beef, excellent fish or cheese as long as we are told of the origin. But when it comes to fine chocolate, people will open up their wallets to the tune of $25, $30, $40, $50, or $60 per pound at well-known chocolate retailers; but do we ever stop a minute to question where that chocolate comes from?

Next time you are at the mall, walk into any of those fancy chocolate shops and ask how their chocolate is made? What is the origin(s) of the cacao used? What type of ingredients are added? You will be surprised with the answers (if any) you get while paying $45.95 per pound for very nice packaging and mediocre chocolate!