Meet The Chocolate Makers

Fancy Food Show week means my chocolate friends are in town and they’re joining us for a special night of chocolate, watercolor, and conversation.
We’ll taste craft chocolate while painting simple watercolor impressions using Hazel Lee’s Taste With Color flavor‑mapping method. No pressure, no perfection—just relax and enjoy the flavors and watercolor.
And the guest lineup is incredible:
Charlene Kent of Chocolate Midge — Trinidadian chocolate maker whose family has worked with cacao for generations.
Liang of Kessho Chocolate — bringing her beautiful, precise, micro‑batch style of Asian inspired flavors.
David Mena — bringing CACAO COLD BREW to sample. No coffee. Just cacao.
Sarah Bharath — world‑respected ethnobotanist and cacao‑fermentation expert, here to answer your questions about cacao from seed to bar.
This is a rare chance to learn directly from people who work with cacao at the deepest level.
We’ll taste four origins, paint, learn, and enjoy an easygoing sensory evening that reminds us how chocolate connects us.
— Nettie Atkisson Author and certified chocolate educator who leads hands‑on tastings for teams, communities, and events.