HARDWICK – Food writer and James Beard Award winner Rowan Jacobsen will be at The Galaxy Bookshop on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m., to discuss his new book, “Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao’s Soul.”
Jacobsen spent more than a year researching this book, including travels through the Amazon and Central America to reach the source of heritage cacao. Joining the author will be Mateo, owner of Prophecy Chocolate, who will share his own insights into cacao and chocolate making, as well as samples of his products.
In “Wild Chocolate,” Jacobsen introduces readers to the chocolate makers, activists, and indigenous leaders who are embracing wild and heirloom cacao in efforts to bring prosperity back to local economies, return fertility to the land, and protect it from the rampages of cattle farming. In turn, they are spurring a new generation of bean-to-bar chocolate makers to produce extraordinary chocolate using these rare varietals, some of which had nearly gone extinct.
Prophecy Chocolate’s Mateo is one of those chocolate makers. He learned sustainable practices from native cacao farmers in Peru and also learned their traditional methods of chocolate making. He later apprenticed to a chocolatier who taught him European-style chocolate making. Mateo brings both of these traditions in creating chocolate bars, drinks, and other cacao-based products.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (802) 472-5533 or visit galaxybookshop.com for a full schedule of events and online shopping. The Galaxy Bookshop is located at 41 South Main Street in Hardwick.
