11:00am PST
Making Chocolate At Home: Refining Your Process
Speakers 
Dean of Beans (Head of Education), Dandelion Chocolate
Cynthia currently heads Dandelion Chocolate’s Education Program. She has spent her life exploring her passion for chocolate. As a child, she spent her allowance buying chocolate bars while visiting grandparents in Canada. In early 2012 she joined Dandelion Chocolate as a chocolate...
Read More →
11:00am PST
The Savory Side of Chocolate
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...
Read More →
11:00am PST
Coffee & Chocolate Pairing
Speakers 
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 →
11:00am PST
Biodiversity in Cacao
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...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
How To Make Beautiful Molded Truffles
Speakers 
Master Chocolatier, Forte Chocolates
Master Chocolatier, Karen Neugebauer is a true Artisan who is at the forefront of the Seattle artisan chocolate scene. She has continually wowed customers with both traditional pieces and her cutting-edge confections and chocolate bars. Her passion for the craft and cunningly balanced...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Fresh Cacao Tasting: Taste the fruit of the Cocoa Tree!!
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...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Roasting and Conching for Flavor Development
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 →
12:00pm PST
The Pulse of Progress in Cacao Regions and Fine Chocolate Making
Speakers 
Founder and Americas Director, International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting and International Chocolate Awards
Dr. Maricel E. Presilla, a descendant of cacao farmers from the eastern mountains of her native Cuba, has been working on fine cacao and chocolate for the last thirty years, combining the high academic standards of a professionally trained historian with a cultural anthropologist’s...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Brazil Vs. Brasil
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...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
Ghana: A Journey to Origin
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...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
2:00pm PST
Polycarbonate Moulding For Truffles and Confections
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...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
Chocolate & Cheese Pairing
Speakers
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 →
2:00pm PST
Building a Chocolate Factory + Being a Chocolate Maker
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
3:00pm PST
Meso-American Drinking Chocolate: Taste Traditional Recipes
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...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
On A Cocoa Safari: Tanzania
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 →
3:00pm PST
Design & Photography - The Visuals of Chocolate
Speakers ER
Senior Graphic Designer, Theo Chocolate
Emily Raffensperger is a Seattle-based communication designer and illustrator, and has been a member of the Theo Chocolate design team since 2014. Her experience at Theo has ranged from designing product packaging, digital assets, and print collateral, to art directing photoshoots...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Keynote Panel: Leadership in the Chocolate Industry
Moderators 
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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...
Read More →
Founder and Americas Director, International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting and International Chocolate Awards
Dr. Maricel E. Presilla, a descendant of cacao farmers from the eastern mountains of her native Cuba, has been working on fine cacao and chocolate for the last thirty years, combining the high academic standards of a professionally trained historian with a cultural anthropologist’s...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
4:00pm PST
The Magic of Machines
Speakers 
cocoamojo
Engineer, builder, machine designer, real-stuff fabricator, friend of chocolate makers and makers of all things chocolate, I am fortunate to have the privilege of providing process and machine support, and plant design and construction to a broad variety of chocolate makers, small...
Read More →
11:00am PST
Cooking With Cacao Based Teas
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...
Read More →
11:00am PST
11:00am PST
11:00am PST
Transparent Trade: The Future of Ethical Sourcing
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 →
12:00pm PST
12:00pm PST
Chocolate is a Fermented Food!
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...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
Developing a Cacao & Chocolate Association at Origin
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...
Read More →
12:00pm PST
From Bean to Bar to Bon Bon
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 →
1:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
1:00pm PST
Chocolate Tasting for Professionals
Speakers 
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 →
Master Chocolatier, Forte Chocolates
Master Chocolatier, Karen Neugebauer is a true Artisan who is at the forefront of the Seattle artisan chocolate scene. She has continually wowed customers with both traditional pieces and her cutting-edge confections and chocolate bars. Her passion for the craft and cunningly balanced...
Read More →
Founder and Americas Director, International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting and International Chocolate Awards
Dr. Maricel E. Presilla, a descendant of cacao farmers from the eastern mountains of her native Cuba, has been working on fine cacao and chocolate for the last thirty years, combining the high academic standards of a professionally trained historian with a cultural anthropologist’s...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Creating New Supply Chain: India
Speakers 
Pascati Chocolate
Devansh is Founder and Partner at Pascati Chocolates. He comes with background in the Hotel Industry having pursued his Bachelor's degree from Hospitality Management form CalPoly Pomona. After a successful stint with major hotel chains back in India, over a period of 5 years, he founded...
Read More →
1:00pm PST
Fermenting Wild Cacao in the Amazon
Speakers 
CPO and founder, Luisa Abram Chocolates
Since 2014, together with my family, I make chocolate with only two ingredients (cocoa and organic cane sugar) from wild beans harvested by riverside communities that live in the Amazon Rainforest.
2:00pm PST
Beautiful Handcrafted Chocolate in Five Easy Steps
Speakers 
Chef, Hot Chocolat
Award-winning chef Michael Poole shares his culinary journey, from firehouse cook to French-trained chef to chocolatier to instructor.Poole's passion for cooking began as a firehouse cook, and he has since honed his skills at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, L'Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
Fresh Cacao Tasting: Taste the fruit of the Cocoa Tree!!
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...
Read More →
2:00pm PST
2:00pm PST
Empowering Women in Cacao Farming Communities
Speakers 
Co-Founder, Good King Gourmet Snacking Cacao
Like any good chocolate, Kim's career path is full of beautiful complexity. The first half was a traditional corporate experience (in wine - yum!). The second half is quite uncharted - ask her about the boa constrictor, hitchhiking in the jungle or the romance novella inspired by...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Creating Fruit Chocolate at Home
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...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Chocolate & Cheese Pairing
Speakers
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 →
3:00pm PST
Cacao Under Pressure: Making Cocoa Butter
Speakers 
Cofounder, Chocolate Maker & Educator, Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Monica first tasted the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao tree in 2003 while in Panama developing eco-resorts, and although she didn’t realize it at the time, her love of chocolate was born. Her career in real estate development brought her to southern California, where she discovered...
Read More →
3:00pm PST
Chocolate Wellness - What's in Your Chocolate
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...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
Grenada – The Chocolate Capital of the Caribbean
Speakers 
Director of Sales & Marketing, USA, GRENADA TOURISM AUTHORITY
Christine Noel-Horsford, U.S.A Director of Sales & Marketing with the Grenada Tourism Authority, brings over 20 years of public service to Grenada’s tourism industry. Prior to assuming her position with Grenada Tourism Authority in the USA, Mrs. Noel-Horsford was the director...
Read More →
Grenada Chocolate Fest
Sheba is from the small Caribbean Island of Grenada, which grows award-winning fine flavoured cacao and has the most chocolate factories per capita in the world. She joined the dedicated and passionate creative team that organises the Grenada Chocolate Fest since in 2016. Alongside...
Read More →
4:00pm PST
Chocolate and CBD: Why this works.
Speakers 
CEO, Vital Leaf
Christina aims to inspire, nourish, and bring community together through healthy, delicious, and healing foods. As the visionary force behind the Vital Leaf edibles line, she is crafting artisan CBD & Cannabis products, including organic, fair-trade, regeneratively sourced Chocolates...
Read More →
