11:00am PST
Tanzania! Tales from the new origin in fine flavor cacao (Africa)
Speakers
Director, Kokoa Kamili
Simran is one of the two founders of Kokoa Kamili - a company in Tanzania that is bringing a new business model to the cocoa sector. By focusing on producing fully traceable, fine flavour cocoa, we are able to ensure that we can pay our farmers far above market pricing for our beans...
Read More →
11:00am PST
From Tree to Tongue: A Cacao Science Primer
Speakers
Founder / Maker / Alchemist, Endorfin Foods
Brian's passion for ethnobotany led him to chocolate, aka Theobroma cacao, which translated from Latin literally means "the food of the gods". Through years of courses and travels around the globe, Brian learned to unite his love for wildcrafting with the technical savvy required...
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11:00am PST
Making Super Delicious Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Speakers
Head Pastry Chef & Instructor, Art Institute of Seattle
Chef Antoine Rondenet, an instructor of Culinary Arts at The Art Institute of Seattle, apprenticed at Chocalaterie Castellane in Nantes, France, before moving to the United States in 2001. Chef Rondenet, worked as a Pastry Chef since then, mainly in Seattle; he joined the faculty...
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Head Chef & Head of Culinary Programs, Art Institute of Seattle
Chef David Wynne is the Academic Culinary Director at the Art Institute of Seattle and an experienced Chef with a 30 year of success in food education, sustainable food production, development, and leadership. He has consulted with leading chefs, restaraunts, and institutions, participated...
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11:00am PST
Beyond Certifications: The Impact of Craft Chocolate at Origin
Speakers
Founder, Yellow Seed
Nancy is a social entrepreneur and passionate about designing multi-stakeholder collaborations and trust systems that can be safe, sustainable and integrative. She is a co-founder of two non-profit impact driven enterprises; Yellow-Seed facilitates connection between farmers at origin...
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11:00am PST
Taste with Colour: The Chocolate Colour Flavor Map
Speakers
Devoted To Fine Chocolate
Hazel Lee is a part time Chocolate Consultant, Home Bean to Bar Maker, Chocolate Judge and Cocoa Adventurer. She truly fell in love with cacao and chocolate in December 2013 when she volunteered at La Iguana Chocolate, a cocoa farm in the Costa Rican jungle. Since then, Hazel has...
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11:00am PST
Chocolate Tasting for Professionals
Speakers
Chloe Chocolate, Chloe Chocolat
Chloe Doutre Roussel is an author, consultant, educator and world-renowned expert on all things chocolate. Her seminal book, “The Chocolate Connoisseur”, has been translated into 5 languages. Her relationship with chocolate is a genuine passion and love story and her enthusiasm...
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11:00am PST
12:00pm PST
Engineering a New Future For Haiti - Craft Chocolate at Origin
Speakers
Co-founder and CEO, Les Chocolateries Askanya
Corinne Joachim Sanon Symietz grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, well into her high school years.Post her High-School graduation in 2002, she moved to New-Orleans Louisiana, where she completed her first two years of college. Seeking a more challenging and rigorous engineering program...
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12:00pm PST
Hot Off The Press: 4 New Must-Read Chocolate Books
Speakers
Chief Marketing Officer, Askinosie Chocolate
Lawren Askinosie grew up around craft chocolate, and with craft chocolate. In 2005 her father started Askinosie Chocolate, one of the first small batch chocolate factories in America. Eager to jump into the family business full-time Lawren began college early and upon graduation at...
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Chocolate Sourcerer, Dandelion Chocolate
Greg has been working with chocolate for over twenty years, and making chocolate for the last decade. He started making liquid nitrogen truffles in college with "borrowed" equipment from the physics lab. He's been with Dandelion Chocolate for 5 years as partial owner and Chocolate...
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founder, Chocolate Noise
Megan Giller writes about food and culture, and especially bean-to-bar chocolate, for Slate, Food & Wine, The New York Times, and more. She also has her own site, Chocolate Noise, and is working on a book about American bean-to-bar chocolate, to be published by Storey Publishing in...
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Lecturer, Cocoapreneurship Institute of Ghana
Dr. Kristy Leissle is a scholar of the global cocoa and chocolate industries, and her new book on the geopolitics of cocoa will be out in March 2018. She is faculty at the University of Washington Bothell, where she teaches Global Studies & African Studies. Kristy also works with...
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Co-Owner, French Broad Chocolate
Jael Rattigan, along with her husband, Dan, lived and worked in the cacao-rich rainforest of Costa Rica for two years. At the restaurant they opened, Bread and Chocolate, they were able to source local chocolate for their handmade desserts, sparking a passion for cacao and all things...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Can I Get a Ho, Ho, Ho?...Modern Bûche de Noël
Speakers
Owner and Executive Chef, Pix Patisserie / Bar Vivant
Pix Patisserie, Cheryl's 16 year old Portland pastry paradise, has been mentioned in Food and Wine, Elle Décor, Food Network Magazine, Sunset, Wine & Spirits and The New York Times Magazine, where it stated, “Cheryl Wakerhauser’s macaroons trounce Per Se’s.” She is a natural...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Empowering Women of Venezuela - The Chocolate Revolution
Speakers
Cook, entrepreneur, artist and chocolatier.
Maria Fernanda di Giacobbe, chef, master chocolatier, and ambassador of Venezuelan cocoa is the founder of KaKao, Venezuelan chocolates (2004), Cacao de Origen (2013) and Río Cacao (2017). As an entrepreneur and caterer, she was the owner of more than 15 cafés and restaurants in...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
The first survey of North American fine/craft chocolate makers: research needs and research teams
Speakers RG
University of California, Davis, Associate Professor of Agricultural Sustainability and Society
Dr. Ryan Galt, PhD, is a MacArthur Foundation Endowed Chair in Global Conservation working on a project ""Just chocolate? Impacts of ethical cacao-chocolate commodity chains on biodiversity conservation, crop genetic diversity, and livelihoods." He is a broadly-trained geographer...
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Executive Director; Lecturer, Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute; Harvard University
Carla D. Martin, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute and a Lecturer in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Carla is a social anthropologist whose current research focuses on ethics, quality...
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University of California Davis
Madeline Weeks is a PhD student at the University of California Davis studying ethics and equity in craft chocolate production. She draws upon human geography and political economy to understand the wider social and ecological relations of making chocolate using case studies of value...
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12:00pm PST
From Bliss to Newborn Neurons: The structure of chocolate and its magical impact on the brain
Speakers
Professor, Neuroscience Program, UC San Diego’s Department of Cognitive Science
Andrea A. Chiba is a Professor in the Department of Cognitive Science and in the Program of Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. The Chiba Laboratory is focused on gaining an understanding of the neural systems and principles underlying aspects of learning, memory...
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Senior Scientist, Research and Development, Guittard Chocolate Company
Thalia Hohenthal is the Senior Scientist of Research and Development for Guittard Chocolate Company and a graduate of University of California, Davis in Food Biochemistry. Thalia has dedicated 38 years to the science of chocolate. She directs new product design, commercialization...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
Building Stable and Sustainable Cacao Origins (CANCELLED)
Speakers
Owner, President, Cacao Services
Daniel O'Doherty works independently in over 20 countries with cacao producers ranging from tiny co-ops harvesting wild cacao in the Amazon to large modern plantations. Areas of expertise include post-harvest handling, genetics, and farm management.
1:00pm PST
Chocolate 101: The Fundamentals of Chocolate
Speakers
Master Chocolatier & Director of R&D, Moonstruck Chocolate Co.
World-renowned chef Julian Rose joined Portland-based Moonstruck Chocolate Co. as its Master Chocolatier and Director of Research and Development in October 2007. Chef Rose is a classically educated pastry chef and confectioner who is known the world over as an authority on chocolate...
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1:00pm PST
Alice Medrich Creates with Rachel Dunn Chocolates
Speakers
Author, pastry chef, and teacher
Award winning author, pastry chef, and teacher, Alice Medrich is one of the country’s foremost experts on chocolate and chocolate desserts. Since 1976, when her renowned dessert shop, Cocolat, opened and her first dessert feature appeared in a national publication, Alice’s innovative...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
The Herbs That Arouse, Mind and Body. Herbalism & Aphrodisiacs
Speakers
Dandelion Botanical Company
Anna is a current student of Naturopathic medicine at Bastyr University. Prior to this she received her BS in nutrition and has since then steeped herself in the mossy world of herbal and mycological medicines. Between apprenticing with local wild-crafters and alchemists, she has...
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1:00pm PST
The Impact of Water on Shelf Life of Ganache
Speakers
Head Pastry Chef & Instructor, Art Institute of Seattle
Chef Antoine Rondenet, an instructor of Culinary Arts at The Art Institute of Seattle, apprenticed at Chocalaterie Castellane in Nantes, France, before moving to the United States in 2001. Chef Rondenet, worked as a Pastry Chef since then, mainly in Seattle; he joined the faculty...
Read More →
Head Chef & Head of Culinary Programs, Art Institute of Seattle
Chef David Wynne is the Academic Culinary Director at the Art Institute of Seattle and an experienced Chef with a 30 year of success in food education, sustainable food production, development, and leadership. He has consulted with leading chefs, restaraunts, and institutions, participated...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Game of Biomes: Chocolate with wild fruits and nuts of Brazil
Speakers
Chocolate Maker, Mission Chocolate
Arcelia has been in the chocolate industry for 17 years and has traveled to 34 countries to discover, teach, and learn hocolate making, use, and techniques. From boutiques in Paris to Maya villages, chocolate and cacao is her expertise. Before becoming a chocolate maker she was a...
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2:00pm PST
The Genetic Diversity of Chocolate: Mapping cacao across the world
Speakers
Research Leader, USDA/ARS
Lyndel W. Meinhardt is the Research Leader for the Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory at the Beltsville Area Research Center – USDA/ARS. Prior to join ARS, he worked as a visiting scientist in Brazil for 10 years where he collaborated with the Xylella fastidiosa, Moniliophthora...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
Radical Transparency and the Evolution of Ethical Trade
Speakers
Director of Global Operations and Sourcing, Uncommon Cacao
Stasi is the Supply Chain Manager at Uncommon Cacao, focused on sourcing high-quality cacao from partners we trust and ensuring social and economic impact in our supply chain. Before Uncommon, she was the Program Director for Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importer’s NGO in Rwanda...
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Managing Director, Co-founder, Uncommon Cacao
Maya is focused on pioneering a model of extreme transparency in the chocolate supply chain to deliver quality cacao to chocolate manufacturers, and create meaningful market access for cacao farmers globally. She is co-founder and Managing Director of Uncommon Cacao, a fully transparent...
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2:00pm PST
Holiday-Themed Amenity Showpiece
Speakers
Co-Owner, Dote Coffee Bar
Ewald Notter has won numerous awards, including National and World Pastry Team Champion and Pastry Chef of the Year. In 2001, he won the gold medal with the US Team at the Coupe du Monde in Lyon, France, receiving the highest score ever recorded in sugar work. In 2003, he was honored...
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2:00pm PST
2:00pm PST
2:00pm PST
The Science of Sugar, for confectionary work and chocolate making
Speakers
Chocolatier, Chocolate Man
Bill Fredericks, Chocolate Man, has been educating and consulting on all things chocolate for three decades. Few chocolatiers in the Pacific Northwest have not benefited at some point from his expertise. His shop, Chocolate Man, opened in 2012 in Lake Forest Park, where Bill teaches...
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2:00pm PST
Artisan Cheese and Craft Chocolate Taste and Talk
Speakers
Co Founder, Dick Taylor Chocolate
Former boatbuilders and carpenters, Humboldt State University graduates Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor founded Dick Taylor Chocolates in 2010, bringing their fine craftsmanship to the process of batch chocolate making. Thier bean-to-bar chocolate uses only organic cacao and organic cane...
Read More →
Digital Marketing Manager, Cypress Grove
A natural storyteller with an insatiable curiosity, Haley Nessler believes there is no greater storytelling tool than food. As the digital marketing manager at Cypress Grove, Haley brings the Cypress Grove story to life via social media, product copy, websites, and more, stoking the...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Cacao de Colombia: Stories from the Field
Speakers
CEO and Co-founder, Uncommon Cacao
Emily Stone has spent the greater part of the last decade deep in the jungles of Central America, creating meaningful market access for thousands of indigenous Maya smallholder farmers through supply chain companies connecting these farmers with premium chocolate makers in the U.S...
Read More →
CEO, Cacao de Colombia
Carlos Ignacio Velasco studied industrial engineering at Andes University in Colombia. He worked for over 12 years in the coffee and cacao industry and nine years with the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), or National Federation of Coffee Producers in Colombia...
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3:00pm PST
Changing Lives: One Bar At A Time
Speakers
Founder, BIJA
Paul Newman is a social communicator and documentary photographer whose work has been featured and awarded in magazines and online visual journals worldwide. His photographic work has exhibited in galleries such as the Tate Gallery London and New Mexico Natural History Museum, and...
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3:00pm PST
The Art of Flavor with Single Origin Bon Bons
Speakers
Executive Pastry Chef, Guittard Chocolate Company
Prior to his joining Guittard Chocolate as the in-house pastry chef, Donald Wressell spent 19 years at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills where he was named the 2005 Pastry Chef of the Year, won Silver and Gold medals in the Grand Salon Culinaire and placed second at the...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Wine and Chocolate Pairing
Speakers
Sr. Brand Manager, Scharffen Berger / DAGOBA Organic Chocolate
When it comes to chocolate, Susie has a breadth of experience. Like her chocolate, her role is bean-to-bar: travelling to remote parts of the rainforest in Latin America with her sourcing team to find unique tasting cacao beans from small, family-owned co-op farms, to ensuring Scharffen...
Read More →
Hospitality Director, Mercer Wine Estates
A Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level 3 certified wine professional, Rachel has worked in the industry for the last 13 years, specializing in food and wine pairings. Her previous experience includes wine education, culinary arts instructor, and chef. Rachel has traveled to...
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3:00pm PST
3:00pm PST
Traditional Drinking Chocolate of the Aztec + Maya: Recipes and Tastes
Speakers
Cofounder and Chocolate Flavormeister, Madre Chocolate
Dr. Nat Bletter has 15 years of experience in botany, documenting exotic fruits and vegetables, gathering food in the wild, herbal and traditional medicine, and exploring Asia, South America, Central America, and Africa. He has a Ph.D. in Ethnobotany from the City University of New...
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3:00pm PST
Global Differences in Cacao Production for Craft Chocolate (Panel Discussion)
Speakers
Director, Kokoa Kamili
Simran is one of the two founders of Kokoa Kamili - a company in Tanzania that is bringing a new business model to the cocoa sector. By focusing on producing fully traceable, fine flavour cocoa, we are able to ensure that we can pay our farmers far above market pricing for our beans...
Read More →
Chocolate Sourcerer, Dandelion Chocolate
Greg has been working with chocolate for over twenty years, and making chocolate for the last decade. He started making liquid nitrogen truffles in college with "borrowed" equipment from the physics lab. He's been with Dandelion Chocolate for 5 years as partial owner and Chocolate...
Read More →
Co-Founder, Reserva Zorzal, Dominican Republic
Dr. Charles Kerchner is co-founder of Reserva Zorzal, a 1,000 acre bird sanctuary and organic cacao farm in the Dominican Republic. He has worked for 15 years with cacao growers developing innovative mechanisms, including selling select cacao bean varietals to artisan chocolate makers...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
4:00pm PST
What Does That Label Mean? A Guide to Buying Chocolate You Love
Speakers
Writer/artist/owner, huntingforchocolate.com
Heather Holland is a freelance writer and artist (the Jane of all trades) at http://huntingforchocolate.com. Aside from Hunting for Chocolate, she is known to chase adventure off the beaten path (or plate). Heather served the US Army for 8 years in scientific fields (first as a Field...
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4:00pm PST
Savory Dishes with Chocolate
Speakers
Owner, Eat Seattle
Liz Founded Eat Seattle in 2015 after being inspired by food experiences during her travels in Europe. She is a classically trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has spent the last 15 years perfecting her craft. Just as important to her time spent in the kitchen, is her time...
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4:00pm PST
The Criollo Project - Domori's commitment to biodiversity
Speakers
Digital and Product Manager, Domori
Specialized in sensory analysis and lecturer at the International Institute Chocolier, Valeria Feggi is involved in marketing and product development at Domori, leader in the production of fine chocolate and part of the illy Group. She graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico...
Read More →
Riccardo Illy joined the family company, Illycaffè S.p.A. in 1977 and became sales director in the mid 1980s, where he leading a focus on uniqueness single blends and extended new product sales channels with the industrialization of serving and coffee pods. In 1992, he became managing...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
Live Music and Chocolate Experience
Speakers
Founder, Lillie Belle Farms
Jeff Shepherd is the dynamic and irreverent chocolatier of Lillie Belle Farms, whose award winning chocolates and bean to bar creations have swept the nation for the last ten years. Voted one of “America’s Top 10 Chocolatiers” by Pastry Arts and Design magazine, Jeff’s “Out...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
Social Media for Chocolate Companies and Professionals
Speakers
Blogger, The Chocolate Journalist
Sharon Terenzi is a professional chocolate blogger that writes about the latest news and trends in the craft chocolate industry on her website TheChocolateJournalist.com. She has 16.000+ organic followers on Instagram and her Facebook page is where chocolate professionals come together...
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4:00pm PST
How Cocoa Gets Its Taste: The Path of Fine Flavor Cacao
Speakers
General Manager, Ingemann Fine Cocoa
Lars Saquero Moller is Danish of origin and as of 2010 the General Manager of Ingemann in Nicaragua, the Moller family business. Ingemann works as the access to market for around 1.500 honey and cocoa producers in Nicaragua and currently serves customers in 35 countries, focusing...
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11:00am PST
11:00am PST
Genetics of Cacao 101: A Primer on the Food You Love
Speakers
Professor of Biology, FCIA & Southwestern University
Dr. Romi Burks started using chocolate to teach about the connections between disciplines around 15 years ago. As a Biology Professor at a small liberal arts college (Southwestern University), Burks teaches a multi-disciplinary First Year Seminar examining the subtleties of the "dark...
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11:00am PST
Traditional Drinking Chocolate
Speakers
COO, CACOCO
With a background in Anthropology and farm to table cheffing, Liam is chief samurai alchemist and co-founder of CACOCO Drinking Chocolate. Liam is one of the most enthusiastic chocolate revivalists in the known physical universe and loves to introduce people to the molten chocolate...
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11:00am PST
11:00am PST
Taking a Step Toward Quality Standards in Cacao: The FCCI Story
Speakers
Executive Director; Lecturer, Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute; Harvard University
Carla D. Martin, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute and a Lecturer in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Carla is a social anthropologist whose current research focuses on ethics, quality...
Read More →
11:00am PST
Coffee & Chocolate Sensory Evaluation & Tasting Workshop
Speakers
Marketing Director, indi chocolate
Becca Roebber started working in Ecuador with the Kallari Cooperative in 2008. She worked with them to get Kallari into major markets in the USA and promoted their farmer owned chocolate throughout the country. She started in 2016 with indi chocolate in Pike Place Market as the Marketing...
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Sales Executive and Education, La Columbe Coffee Roasters
12:00pm PST
Zorzal Cacao - It's for the birds!
Speakers
Co-Founder, Reserva Zorzal, Dominican Republic
Dr. Charles Kerchner is co-founder of Reserva Zorzal, a 1,000 acre bird sanctuary and organic cacao farm in the Dominican Republic. He has worked for 15 years with cacao growers developing innovative mechanisms, including selling select cacao bean varietals to artisan chocolate makers...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Make Chocolate at Home: from Bean to Bar, with a chocolate refiner
Speakers
Founder, Indi Chocolate
Erin Andrews started her journey in chocolate when her older daughter, Indi, asked where chocolate came from. Over 10 years after teaching her daughters "how chocolate grows on trees," Erin has founded two successful bean to bar chocolate companies, in Belize and Seattle. Erin talks...
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12:00pm PST
Can I Get a Ho, Ho, Ho?...Modern Bûche de Noël
Speakers
Owner and Executive Chef, Pix Patisserie / Bar Vivant
Pix Patisserie, Cheryl's 16 year old Portland pastry paradise, has been mentioned in Food and Wine, Elle Décor, Food Network Magazine, Sunset, Wine & Spirits and The New York Times Magazine, where it stated, “Cheryl Wakerhauser’s macaroons trounce Per Se’s.” She is a natural...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
12:00pm PST
Bean-to-Bar-to-Bon Bon - Taste the Journey of Craft Chocolate to Delicious Confections"
Speakers
Co-Owner, French Broad Chocolate
Jael Rattigan, along with her husband, Dan, lived and worked in the cacao-rich rainforest of Costa Rica for two years. At the restaurant they opened, Bread and Chocolate, they were able to source local chocolate for their handmade desserts, sparking a passion for cacao and all things...
Read More →
Co Owner, French Broad Chocolate
Dan Rattigan, and his wife and partner Jael, founded French Broad Chocolates in 2007, after returning from two years living and working in Costa Rica. Started as a confectioner, they transitioned the company bean to bar between 2012 and 2014. Dan has been organizing shared purchasing...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
The Art and Science of Small-Batch and Large-Scale Chocolate Making
Speakers
Senior Scientist, Research and Development, Guittard Chocolate Company
Thalia Hohenthal is the Senior Scientist of Research and Development for Guittard Chocolate Company and a graduate of University of California, Davis in Food Biochemistry. Thalia has dedicated 38 years to the science of chocolate. She directs new product design, commercialization...
Read More →
Founder, Lillie Belle Farms
Jeff Shepherd is the dynamic and irreverent chocolatier of Lillie Belle Farms, whose award winning chocolates and bean to bar creations have swept the nation for the last ten years. Voted one of “America’s Top 10 Chocolatiers” by Pastry Arts and Design magazine, Jeff’s “Out...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Craft Couvertures for Creative Confectioners
Speakers
Owner, Grocers Daughter Chocolate & The Chocolate Squad (coming soon)
Jody is co-owner of a small craft chocolate confections business in Northern Michigan, Grocer's Daughter Chocolate (GDC). She is committed to sourcing ethically traded chocolate for her shop's recipes (and loads of local ingredients like cream, honey, fruits, spirits/beer, tea/coffee...
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Founder, Conexion Chocolate * Ecuador
Jenny Samaniego founded Conexion Chocolate after nearly 10 years in the industry believing it was possible to produce an exquisite, high-end Couverture in the country of origin. What better place to do this than her home country of Ecuador, birthplace of the famed Arriba Nacional...
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1:00pm PST
Fermentation 101: Essential Primer and Field Notes (CANCELLED)
Speakers
Owner, President, Cacao Services
Daniel O'Doherty works independently in over 20 countries with cacao producers ranging from tiny co-ops harvesting wild cacao in the Amazon to large modern plantations. Areas of expertise include post-harvest handling, genetics, and farm management.
1:00pm PST
Guatemala Jungle Harvest: Meet Your Origin
Speakers
Quality and Technical Manager, Cacao Verapaz
Roy Wilhen Fraatz Lopez is the quality and technical manager at Cacao Verapaz in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Roy graduated as Agricultural Engineer with a focus on Socioeconomic Development and Environment from Zamorano University in 2007. Originally from the department of Alta...
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CEO and Co-founder, Uncommon Cacao
Emily Stone has spent the greater part of the last decade deep in the jungles of Central America, creating meaningful market access for thousands of indigenous Maya smallholder farmers through supply chain companies connecting these farmers with premium chocolate makers in the U.S...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Roasting and Conching to Develop Chocolate Flavor
Speakers
Engineer & Founder, Fresco Chocolate
Rob Anderson started a chocolate journey in 2003 with a single bag of cocoa and small stone grinder. Rob soon became obsessed with the complexities of flavors from fresh chocolate and the endless combinations of cocoa varieties, recipes and processes that were possible for creating...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Alice Medrich Creates with Rachel Dunn Chocolates
Speakers
Author, pastry chef, and teacher
Award winning author, pastry chef, and teacher, Alice Medrich is one of the country’s foremost experts on chocolate and chocolate desserts. Since 1976, when her renowned dessert shop, Cocolat, opened and her first dessert feature appeared in a national publication, Alice’s innovative...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
The Criollo Project - Discovering the rarest aromatic cacao
Speakers
Digital and Product Manager, Domori
Specialized in sensory analysis and lecturer at the International Institute Chocolier, Valeria Feggi is involved in marketing and product development at Domori, leader in the production of fine chocolate and part of the illy Group. She graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico...
Read More →
Riccardo Illy joined the family company, Illycaffè S.p.A. in 1977 and became sales director in the mid 1980s, where he leading a focus on uniqueness single blends and extended new product sales channels with the industrialization of serving and coffee pods. In 1992, he became managing...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Wine and Chocolate Pairing
Speakers
Sr. Brand Manager, Scharffen Berger / DAGOBA Organic Chocolate
When it comes to chocolate, Susie has a breadth of experience. Like her chocolate, her role is bean-to-bar: travelling to remote parts of the rainforest in Latin America with her sourcing team to find unique tasting cacao beans from small, family-owned co-op farms, to ensuring Scharffen...
Read More →
Hospitality Director, Mercer Wine Estates
A Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level 3 certified wine professional, Rachel has worked in the industry for the last 13 years, specializing in food and wine pairings. Her previous experience includes wine education, culinary arts instructor, and chef. Rachel has traveled to...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Artisan Cheese and Craft Chocolate Taste and Talk
Speakers
Co Founder, Dick Taylor Chocolate
Former boatbuilders and carpenters, Humboldt State University graduates Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor founded Dick Taylor Chocolates in 2010, bringing their fine craftsmanship to the process of batch chocolate making. Thier bean-to-bar chocolate uses only organic cacao and organic cane...
Read More →
Digital Marketing Manager, Cypress Grove
A natural storyteller with an insatiable curiosity, Haley Nessler believes there is no greater storytelling tool than food. As the digital marketing manager at Cypress Grove, Haley brings the Cypress Grove story to life via social media, product copy, websites, and more, stoking the...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
Peruvian Cacao Farmers Improving Their Quality of Life: The Case of ACOPAGRO
Speakers
Commercial Manager, Acopagro Cooperative
Pamela Esquivel is the Commercial Manager for Acopagro. She is an accountant by training with a specialization in foreign trade. Ten years ago Pamela began working in the cacao industry and 3 years ago she took on the position of Commercial Manager for ACOPAGRO. She enjoys the...
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General Manager, Acopagro Cooperative
Gonzalo Ríos is the General Manager of Acopagro Cooperative. He is an economist by training with a specialization in agribusiness. Twenty years ago Gonzalo founded ACOPAGRO and has been managing and supporting this organization ever since. Prior to starting Acopagro, Gonzalo...
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2:00pm PST
From Surfing to Chocolate Making: Hawaii Inspired Manoa Chocolate
Speakers
Chocolate Maker, Owner, Manoa Chocolate
Dylan Butterbaugh is the Founder and Chocolate Maker of Mānoa Chocolate Hawaii, a bean-to-bar craft chocolate factory located in Kailua, Oahu. In Hawaiian language, mānoa is a descriptor meaning, "thick, solid, vast; depth" and refers to the depth of flavor and complexity found...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
The Art of Flavor with Single Origin Bon Bons
Speakers
Executive Pastry Chef, Guittard Chocolate Company
Prior to his joining Guittard Chocolate as the in-house pastry chef, Donald Wressell spent 19 years at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills where he was named the 2005 Pastry Chef of the Year, won Silver and Gold medals in the Grand Salon Culinaire and placed second at the...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
The Genetic Diversity of chocolate: Mapping cacao across the world
Speakers
Research Leader, USDA/ARS
Lyndel W. Meinhardt is the Research Leader for the Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory at the Beltsville Area Research Center – USDA/ARS. Prior to join ARS, he worked as a visiting scientist in Brazil for 10 years where he collaborated with the Xylella fastidiosa, Moniliophthora...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
2:00pm PST
Global Trends: Bean To Bar Chocolate Movement in Japan
Speakers
Chloe Chocolate, Chloe Chocolat
Chloe Doutre Roussel is an author, consultant, educator and world-renowned expert on all things chocolate. Her seminal book, “The Chocolate Connoisseur”, has been translated into 5 languages. Her relationship with chocolate is a genuine passion and love story and her enthusiasm...
Read More →
Cook, entrepreneur, artist and chocolatier.
Maria Fernanda di Giacobbe, chef, master chocolatier, and ambassador of Venezuelan cocoa is the founder of KaKao, Venezuelan chocolates (2004), Cacao de Origen (2013) and Río Cacao (2017). As an entrepreneur and caterer, she was the owner of more than 15 cafés and restaurants in...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
Curating a World Class Chocolate Collection
Speakers
Chief Chocophile, Chocolopolis/FCIA
Lauren Adler is a pioneer in the craft chocolate industry with over a decade of experience introducing consumers to fine chocolate. She was the founder of Seattle retail store
Chocolopolis and she currently serves as a Board member and the co-Executive Director of the Fine Chocol...
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3:00pm PST
Farmer prosperity is a key ingredient in good chocolate
Speakers
Quality and Technical Manager, Cacao Verapaz
Roy Wilhen Fraatz Lopez is the quality and technical manager at Cacao Verapaz in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Roy graduated as Agricultural Engineer with a focus on Socioeconomic Development and Environment from Zamorano University in 2007. Originally from the department of Alta...
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CEO and Co-founder, Uncommon Cacao
Emily Stone has spent the greater part of the last decade deep in the jungles of Central America, creating meaningful market access for thousands of indigenous Maya smallholder farmers through supply chain companies connecting these farmers with premium chocolate makers in the U.S...
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CEO, Cacao de Colombia
Carlos Ignacio Velasco studied industrial engineering at Andes University in Colombia. He worked for over 12 years in the coffee and cacao industry and nine years with the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), or National Federation of Coffee Producers in Colombia...
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3:00pm PST
Craft Chocolate: A Brief History
Speakers
Craft Chocolate Specialist, Bar Cacao
Jessica Ferraro created Bar Cacao to help drive the craft chocolate movement in a positive direction. She does this through wholesale and retail sales, advising, education and events. She's judged for the Chocolate Alliance, International Chocolate Awards and Good Food Awards, hosts...
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3:00pm PST
Chocolate for Delicious Savory Dishes
Speakers
Tamas Ronyai brings his extensive international experience to Seattle. After completed his international chef’s papers and apprenticeahip at the famous Hotel Gellert in Budapest, Hungary, he working for the Hilton Hotel chain traveling to Rome, London, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali, Singapore...
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3:00pm PST
3:00pm PST
Flavor + Quality in Sustainability
Speakers
Director of Sustainability, Guittard Chocolate Company
With 25 years in cocoa sourcing, international trade and development, together with cocoa sensory and product development experience, John brings a unique perspective to the issues and opportunities facing sustainability in the cocoa and chocolate industries. John has managed cocoa...
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3:00pm PST
Vibrant Living Chocolate with Superfoods
Speakers
Co-founder and Chocolate Alchemist, Live A Lot
Giovanna Garcia, Co-founder and Chocolate Alchemist of Live A Lot Chocolate, is a nutritionist, holistic chef, and women's mentor inspired by nature's medicine. Live A Lot chocolate is organic, sustainably sourced, and created with bliss and vitality in mind. She incorporates cacao...
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3:00pm PST
Growing Cacao in Hawaii: the challenges and opportunities
Speakers
Chocolate Maker, Owner, Manoa Chocolate
Dylan Butterbaugh is the Founder and Chocolate Maker of Mānoa Chocolate Hawaii, a bean-to-bar craft chocolate factory located in Kailua, Oahu. In Hawaiian language, mānoa is a descriptor meaning, "thick, solid, vast; depth" and refers to the depth of flavor and complexity found...
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Founder and Chocolate Grower, Lonohana Chocolate
Seneca Klassen has the unusual distinction of being both a farmer and a chocolate maker. He brings a decade of knowledge about sourcing, propagating seedlings and farming cacao in Hawaii, as well as crafting award-winning small batch fine chocolate. He was co-founder of Bittersweet...
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Owner, President, Cacao Services
Daniel O'Doherty works independently in over 20 countries with cacao producers ranging from tiny co-ops harvesting wild cacao in the Amazon to large modern plantations. Areas of expertise include post-harvest handling, genetics, and farm management.
Founder, The Chocolate Garage
Sunita de Tourreil left prion disease in search of work that would engage her mind, heart and palate. Happy Chocolate does just that and has proven to be an even bigger challenge than expected! Sunita is committed to working in partnership with craft chocolate makers to transform...
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4:00pm PST
Live Music and Chocolate Experience
Speakers
Founder, Lillie Belle Farms
Jeff Shepherd is the dynamic and irreverent chocolatier of Lillie Belle Farms, whose award winning chocolates and bean to bar creations have swept the nation for the last ten years. Voted one of “America’s Top 10 Chocolatiers” by Pastry Arts and Design magazine, Jeff’s “Out...
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4:00pm PST
Tanzania! Tales from the new origin in fine flavor cacao (Africa)
Speakers
Director, Kokoa Kamili
Simran is one of the two founders of Kokoa Kamili - a company in Tanzania that is bringing a new business model to the cocoa sector. By focusing on producing fully traceable, fine flavour cocoa, we are able to ensure that we can pay our farmers far above market pricing for our beans...
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4:00pm PST
What Does That Label Mean? A Guide to Buying Chocolate You Love
Speakers
Writer/artist/owner, huntingforchocolate.com
Heather Holland is a freelance writer and artist (the Jane of all trades) at http://huntingforchocolate.com. Aside from Hunting for Chocolate, she is known to chase adventure off the beaten path (or plate). Heather served the US Army for 8 years in scientific fields (first as a Field...
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4:00pm PST
Chocolate Tempering 101
Speakers
Owner, EZ Temper
Kerry has spent 25 years working with all aspects of chocolate. She has taught many students working on starting a chocolate business. She is the Quality Assurance tutor for Ecole Chocolat, troubleshooting quality issues with students. In her well equipped lab she is able to test...
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4:00pm PST
Creation of Inclusive Systems for Cocoa Sensory Analysis
Speakers
Cooperative Development Program Consultant, Equal Exchange
Julia Baumgartner came to the chocolate world via the coffee industry, where she worked for many years with fair trade and organic cooperatives in Latin America. While studying a Masters in Development Practice at the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE...
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Director R&D / Chocolate Maker, TCHO Chocolate
Zohara's passion for chocolate took hold as a child and led her on journeys through equatorial jungles and into labs with chocolate technologists. She started a confection company creating pairings inspired by the diversity of flavors inherent in cacao. Inspired to make chocolate...
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4:00pm PST
Eat Chocolate, Be Fit: Chocolate Wellness
Speakers
Founder, Chocolate Uplift
Chocolate expert and Harvard grad Valerie Beck is a pioneering entrepreneur in chocolate and hospitality. Valerie created the original Chicago Chocolate Tours, which she expanded to 4 cities across the US, grew to 50 employees, and ran for 10 years, educating and entertaining tens...
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