Elizabeth May Greens My Chocolate

Elizabeth May brings green inspiration to my Chocolate Safari

Talk about perfect timing! I finally got my chocolate balloon technique down, just in time to host a visit from environmental champion Elizabeth May. Ms. May is the head of the Green Party of Canada, as well as an environmental activist, author, and former Executive Director of the  Sierra Club of Canada. She was visiting us at the Sauvé House to speak on “Canada’s Triple Deficit : Fiscal, Democratic & Environmental”.

The following morning we had a chance to meet with her in a small group over breakfast. Regardless of your political affiliations, if you have been lucky enough to hear Ms. May at a public talk you know she is passionate, educational, entertaining and, as we say in the Maritimes, she will probably charm your socks off! In small settings, she is just as candid!  Ms. May allowed us to pepper her with all sorts of questions from: why did she choose to leave civil society for politics;  her views on Canada’s electoral system; the Green strategy in the upcoming election; to the 3 people (alive or dead) she would most like to meet.

Talking with her made me further think of ways in which I can “green” my chocolate. As a social entrepreneur in 2010, your impact and relationship with your environment is of crucial importance. Creating a social enterprise means being dedicated to a  “Triple Bottom Line” – sometimes referred to a the “Three Pillars“. This triple bottom line includes People, Plant and Profit. A social entrepreneur needs to think of how do you generate a sustainable profit, while also empowering people, and caring for the planet.

One of my favorite chocolate makers are Choco-Sol. They use pedal powered grinders that they have refurbished from bicycles. I think a similar green style production equipment could work well in Tanzania in small-scale chocolate production.  When this project launches in Tanzania, by working with organic farmers, it will support sustainable agriculture, and also provide farmers with their first in-country market helping them diversify from their export-only operations. I want to also think of ways I can “green” future packaging.

Always in good spirits, Ms. May modelled my latest chocolate bowls! I know her visit will leave a lasting green mark on my project – I may even need to name a chocolate after her. Any suggestions for either names , or in”green”dients I should experiment with? I would love a Green Chocolate challenge!

The Chocolate Bowls looking good in their first public appearance

Chocolate Bowl of Walnuts

Sea Salt Chocolates

Sea Salt Dark Chocolates

In preparation for my first gig, and in an attempt to perfect my dark sea salt recipe creations, I have been tempering like crazy these last few days. I am working on both a sea salt chocolate bar, as well as a truffle. So that means experimenting with two different molds.

I am also playing at being a novice alchemist by working with two different dark chocolates. The first is my favorite 70%  Dark Tanzanian chocolate. The second is a 55%  dark chocolate produced by Cacao Barry. I want to experiment with by combining a high quality sea salt with  dark chocolates of different percentages to learn how taste is affected.

For those of you who have never tried sea salt flavored chocolate – please rush to your nearest chocolatier and tastefully end this virginity When you sprinkle sea salt on food, you are helping bring out the flavors of that food. So when you use it on dark chocolate, you actually help intensify the dark chocolate taste. Plus, the grainy texture actually helps create an interesting “mouthfeel”  – a culinary term used to describe the physical and chemical interactions in one’s mouth, and a common term in “tasting circles”.

Here are some pics of my most recent experiments.

Half a dozen sea salt dark chocolates

Ready to eat - sea salt chocolates

A Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Who knew medicine could taste this good! New research, published in the European Heart Journal, found that regular, modest chocolate intakes can help reduce blood pressure, and thus your vulnerability to cardiovascular diseases. So now you have another reason to eat chocolate on a daily basis! Click on the link below to take you to report on the study published in The Guardian newspaper.

A Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Inspiring Chocolate

I wanted to share some of my favorite chocolatiers and social enterprises with you. It is a list that is growing all the time as I go further down this road of social entrepreneurship. Each of the following groups is an inspiration to me, and I hope to emulate them in the future. Some provide outstanding examples of how you can bring a living environmental activism into the world of chocolate (truly GREEN chocolate), others offer a stunning example of young empowerment and ownership, one entrepreneur demonstrates the potential for not just African cacao growers – but African chocolatiers, while I admire others for being committed to the whole process – from bean to bar!

This list is only a start, and will keep on growing as this project does. In the future, I would love to be able to draw upon some of these leaders to create a support network as we launch in Zanzibar.

Please check them out, and recommend a few of your favorite chocolatiers and/or social entrepreneurs! I would love to check them out!

Choco-Sol

Putting serious soul, community and environmental awareness into their chocolate, these chocolatiers (based out of Toronto) are well known in the farmer’s market, as well as the Kensington scene. Their chocolates are flavored with  social, food and environmental justice. They have built a strong relationship with cacao bean producing communities in Mexico, and are champions in educating chocolate consumers on the history of chocolate. They “green” their chocolate by using pedal-powered grinders to help process their beans! How creative! They can often be seen in Toronto on their bicycles transporting their delicious goodness from their cacao kitchen loft to farmers’ markets. I had the pleasure of volunteering at their kitchen in the summer of 2009 and was very impressed.  I am a fan and a proud customer!

Yummy Dummy Chocolate Company

This company is a delicious example of youth empowerment and enterprise! 7 teenage girls  in California have created their own chocolate company, how youth-tastic!!! Their tag line is “Man can not live by chocolate alone… but girls can!” I am such a fan of young people – and this is such a great example of what young people can do! They produce their own flavored chocolate bars and you can order them on-line. They have even invented their own chocolatiering equipment. If you are lucky enough to live in sunny California, you can find them at various farmer’s markets.What a great gift idea for any of your potential customers out there, especially people or organizations who champion youth. Why not buy your next gift from them!

In my dream world, I would bring these teenage entrepreneurs together with Tanzanian youth entrepreneurs to see how they can learn from each other, and specifically, how chocolate making can be a valuable source of income for young people.

Soma Chocolate

I stumbled across Soma Chocolate by accident. The name “Soma” in Swahili means “to learn”. I originally thought it might be a Tanzanian focused chocolate company. I was wrong… but not disappointed! What I love about Soma Chocolate is that they work from the bean all the way to the bar. Soma Chocolate supports fair trade, organic and cacao cooperatives. You see, and smell the aromatic beans in their boutique, and can watch as the beans are processed.
As a customer you can see all the action as it unfolds. As you sit an enjoy their treats in their Toronto boutique, glass windows separate you from their production site. You can see all the processing, tempering and molding as it unfolds. I think it is a great way to build a connection with your customers to the food they are eating, and specifically the art of chocolate-making and chocolatiering!

From a flavor standpoint – they have some true winners including truffles like: chocolate chai, spicy mayan, ginger & lemon, to even balsamic vinegar! If you are ever in Toronto, take a trip to the distillery district to check them out. I wish I could intern in their production facility, it would be a rich learning environment.

Ezulwini Chocolat: A South-African “Sugar-Mamma”

Nontwenthle Mchunu is an inspiring South African chocolate entrepreneur. Her story is a great example of  how supportive mentorship and educational opportunities can really launch ground-breaking entrepreneurs. Even though so much cacao is grown on the African continent, it is rare to find actually chocolatiers there. Nontwenthle is breaking the mold by establishing her own chocolate factory in Cape Town. She matches chocolate processed in Belgium and Switzerland  with local ingredients such as mint, mango, and almonds. Her business provides strong evidence that African-based chocolatiers can taste success!

These were just a few of my inspirations, I am sure there will be more to share! And if you want to highlight a chocolate company that I could learn from, please pass along their information

My First Gig!

Big news to share … I just got my first catering “gig”. Close friends are putting on a  reception for 50 people and have asked me to share my chocolate creations at the event. There are 2 reasons why this is going to be exciting:

1 – I get to develop a menu of my chocolate creations and get feedback from the public.

2 – There may be mentors or connectors at the reception who I can connect with and may wish to get involved in this chocolate safari.

To get ready for this “gig” I am putting together a menu, which so far includes: chocolate chilli bars, chocolate dipped sea salt caramel, chai truffles, chocolate covered nuts, and chocolate fruit bowls. Do you have any ideas of other items I could add?

In addition to the menu I am developing  promotional materials to have during the event to give the invitees background on the project and an outline of my goals. I have my fingers crossed that it will be a strong networking opportunity!

Mti si Pori: A Tree is not a Forest

Starting a social enterprise is an ambitious SAFARI, and one I would prefer to not walk alone! Drawing upon the Swahili expression, “Mti si Pori”, which translates to “A Tree is not a Forest”, it gives me great satisfaction to cultivate a “forest” of connections, so as to best grow this project.  In particular, I am looking for expertise in the following areas:

Proposal Development

I have developed a project proposal for this project and I am always interested in sharing it with experts who have experience in project planning and development. Their questions and feedback always help me strengthen and polish this proposal. If you would like to be a sounding board for my project proposal – don’t hesitate to contact me.

Funding

I am currently seeking funding for this project. If you are involved in philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, or work with NGOs dedicated to supporting income generation projects and/or sustainable livelihoods – I hope we can be in touch.

Chocolatiering Skill Sharing

If you are a Chocolatier, or a Chocolate-Maker and you would like to share your skills and business experience, you are be in a position to make a valuable contribution. I am currently studying chocolatiering through Ecole Chocolat (http://www.ecolechocolat.com/)  and am always seeking mentorship for more hands-on learning.  As well, as this project begins in Zanzibar I would be looking for chocolatiers and chocolate-makers who would be interested in doing some on-site training. If any of these options appeal to you – I would be thrilled to talk more!

Social Entrepreneurs

As a community development worker who is morphing into a social entrepreneur,  I still am new to this growing area. If you are a social entrepreneur and would like to share lessons from your own experiences, pass along ideas and resources – I hope you will be in touch.

Networking- Connecting

I love meeting “connectors” – people who have a gift of networking and building connections! If you would like to share this blog, pass along a resource, facilitate an introduction – I would love to hear from you!

**To get in touch, please leave a comment, or send an email to: chocosafari@gmail.com

Balloons or Bust: A Success … in progress

As a budding social entrepreneur, one must be creative and resourceful. You also need to swallow some failure along the way – but at least when it is chocolate failure, it still tastes good!

Without the luxury of a personal chocolatier mentor, I am becoming web savvy and using the internet, particularly “YouTube”, to teach me all sorts of chocolate techniques. In the 21st century, it seems, all kinds of experts can be found online!

I started on a quest to make decorative chocolate bowls – one method involved balloons.  As you can imagine, my inner child took over and decided this would be the preferred form of experimentation!

Over the last two weeks, with the assistance of good friends, I’ve tried all kinds of balloon techniques: single-dipping, double-dipping, greased, ungreased, freezing, tempered, untempered, popping the balloon vs. the slow leak method. Nothing has worked yet, but we’ve gotten pretty close. Check out the pics below for some of our attempts. I will keep you updated on this balloon saga as more experiments unfold!

Do you know some secrets about balloons and chocolate? Please add your thoughts!

Chocolate Balloons

Almost a Chocolate Bowl