Northwest Chocolate Festival 2018: Full Schedule

11:00am PST

Coffee and Chocolate Pairing

Onda coffee will discuss the technology they use for coffee with their amazing traceability practices with their coffee farmers. Taste single origin coffee and chocolate paired together. Learn ways to make your own coffee and chocolate pairings at home.

Speakers

Kayleigh Blome

Cafe Manager, indi chocolate

Kayleigh is the cafe manager at indi chocolate, she loves connecting the world of coffee and chocolate through sensory experiences. She has worked in the coffee industry for over four years from developing the Experience bar at Starbucks Reserve Roastery to curating fun and educational... Read More →

Kala Wolfe

Onda Coffee

Saturday November 10, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

12:00pm PST

Delicious Ethics: Who Made Your Chocolate, Who Grew the Cacao?

Is that chocolate bar on the shelf the end result of a supply chain involving child slave labor, or is it ethical chocolate, and how can you tell the difference? Hear tips on how to choose ethical chocolate, presented in a fun and uplifting way, including: how to decode chocolate bar labels, how to maximize chocolate's health benefits, how to avoid GMOs, pesticides, and artificial ingredients, what "natural ingredients" really means, and how to taste and enjoy fine chocolate.

Speakers

Valerie Beck

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... Read More →

Saturday November 10, 2018 12:00pm - 12:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

1:00pm PST

A Chocolate Caribbean Vacation

Speakers

Magdalena Fielden

Grenada Chocolate Fest / Grenada Tourism Authority

Saturday November 10, 2018 1:00pm - 1:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

2:00pm PST

Chuao, Cacao and Identity in Venezuela: How community traditions can inspire a whole country.

Speakers

Maria Fernanda di Giacobbe

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 →

Saturday November 10, 2018 2:00pm - 2:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

3:00pm PST

Cheese & Chocolate 101

Explore the wonders of chocolate and cheese with Theo Chocolate and PCC’s Cheese Monger. With beautiful local cheeses paired with Theo’s incredible chocolate bars and handmade confections, you’re sure to leave with dinner party inspiration. Make sure to stay till the end for a special treat!

Speakers

James Burke

PCC Community Markets

Aaron Lindstrom

Chocolate Ambassador, Theo Chocolate

Aaron Lindstrom has dedicated his life to chocolate for almost a full decade. He’s lead hundreds of chocolate tastings and pairings, given lectures on cocoa farming to students ranging from elementary schools to Stanford University, trained to become a chocolatier, and worked on... Read More →

Saturday November 10, 2018 3:00pm - 3:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

4:00pm PST

The Craft Chocolate Movement: Borrowing from the Past and Innovating for the Future

The craft chocolate movement is over a decade old and continues to see new chocolate makers entering the market at a faster pace every day. Craft chocolate makers have taken cacao and chocolate back to the past, focusing on chocolate's roots and bringing authenticity to the fore. While the craft chocolate movement has borrowed from the past, it has also sparked innovative solutions that offer a vision to the future of where the craft chocolate market is headed. In this presentation, Chocolopolis Chief Chocophile Lauren Adler looks at the changes and innovations in the craft chocolate market in the past decade and makes predictions for where the craft chocolate market is headed in the future including topics such as cacao origins, chocolate manufacturing, chocolate bar pricing and cacao trading.

Speakers

Lauren Adler

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... Read More →

Saturday November 10, 2018 4:00pm - 4:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

11:00am PST

Matcha and Chocolate Pairing

Join indi chocolate and Sugimoto America for a special chocolate and matcha pairing. Learn about the unique flavor profiles of various 72% dark chocolates and organic teas, and how they pair together for a delightful treat. Tea instructors will introduce you to the history of Japanese tea and the cultural significance, as well as demonstrate the traditional way to prepare matcha.

Speakers

Issac Ekblad

Issac Ekblad is the Chocolate Maker at indi chocolate in Pike Place Market. He has been immersed in the world of bean to bar chocolate for the past six years, including working in a chocolate factory in Vietnam and meeting cacao farmers in Cuba. Issac loves to highlight amazing ingredients... Read More →

Adrienne Yangas

Sugimoto Tea

Sunday November 11, 2018 11:00am - 11:50am PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

12:00pm PST

Bean to Bar Chocolate and Beyond: Taste the Journey

Let's talk - and taste - how craft chocolate is moving beyond the bar. In this session, we will take a single origin chocolate from nib to chocolate to bonbon to dessert, tasting every step of the way. We'll talk about businesses who are creating delicious goodies with their own chocolate, and those who are creating chocolate baking products (like chocolate chips or cocoa powder) for chefs and home cooks who want to make their own craft chocolate creations.

Speakers

Jael Rattigan

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 →

Dan Rattigan

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 →

Sunday November 11, 2018 12:00pm - 12:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

1:00pm PST

Discover the Flavors of Brazil’s Amazon Region

Learn about cacao production in the Brazilian Amazon and how this region has become an exciting new origin for bean-to-bar chocolate makers. The Brazilian Amazon has historically exploited for its natural resources, but there is a great opportunity for sustainable development by building regional cocoa supply chains to provide the growing market for ethical and environment-friendly cacao. Samples of the many different Brazilian Amazon cocoa production terroirs will be presented along with samples of innovative cocoa and chocolate products. A list of cocoa suppliers will be presented as well as brands and research groups that are driving cocoa innovation in the Region

Speakers

Luciana Ferreira Centeno

NAYAH Amazon Chocolates

Luciana Ferreira Centeno is B.S. Food Engineering (UFPA, 2009); Ph.D. Food Science & Technology (Cornell University, 2013); Founder and CEO of NAYAH Amazon Chocolates (2015 - present); Professor of Gastronomy (2015 - present) and coordinator for the implantation of the Chocolate Technology... Read More →

Sunday November 11, 2018 1:00pm - 1:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

2:00pm PST

How To Taste Chocolate: A Talk & Tasting with the pros.

Speakers

Brian Cisneros

Founder and Executive Producer, NW Chocolate Festival

Brian created the Northwest Chocolate Festival in 2008 to showcase craft chocolate makers and educate chocolate lovers from all walks of life. In 2014, Brian developed the first cocoa industry conference based on participant-driven dialogue and shared outcomes. In 2019 Brian co-founded... Read More →

Chloe Doutre

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 →

Maria Fernanda di Giacobbe

Cook, entrepreneur, artist and chocolatier.

Sunday November 11, 2018 2:00pm - 2:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage

3:00pm PST

Simple Home Chocolate Making

Did you know you have most of the tools you need for making chocolate already in your home?

Really, there's only one thing you need to buy and you can do everything else with the tools you already have.

Come talk with Erin and learn from her decade of experience in making bean to bar chocolate. Learn tips and tricks for making your own chocolate.

Find an affordable, fun and approachable way of making your own chocolate.

Warning: making your own chocolate may result in many new and eager friends wanting to eat your chocolate!

Speakers

Erin Andrews

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... Read More →

Sunday November 11, 2018 3:00pm - 3:50pm PST
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal Pier 91

Taste Stage