Artisanal or Industrial, Food or Fake: Talk at the DC Chocolate Festival 4.25.25

Posted on by valeriebeck
I’m can hardly wait to give a talk and tasting at the DC Chocolate Festival again this year; look what came back with me from last year’s Festival!

Hi there!

I am honored and excited to give a chocolate talk and tasting Friday, April 25, 2025, at 2:30pm, at the DC Chocolate Festival!

I’ve titled my talk “Artisanal or Industrial, Food or Fake? Making Conscious Chocolate Choices,” and if you are in DC, I hope you will join me in person for a fun, fascinating, and delicious time! In any case, I’ll post my slides here soon, and will post photos after the event.

Event details: 

  • Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
  • Time: 2:30pm ET for my talk; vendor hall open Friday from 2:00pm – 5:30pm and 6:00 – 9:00pm, and Saturday from 10:30am – 2:00pm and 2:00pm – 5:00pm 
  • Location: La Maison Française, Embassy of France in the U.S., Washington, DC, 4101 Reservoir Rd NW 20007
  • Hosted by: The Chocolate House DC — @dcchocolatefestival
  • Tickets: www.DCChocolateFestival.com

Full talk topic:

  • 2:30 pm – 3:15 pm Valerie Beck (founder, Chocolate Uplift and Chicago Chocolate Tours) 
    Title: Artisanal or Industrial, Food or Fake? Making Conscious Chocolate Choices
    Chocolate can be a standardized bulk ingredient in an industrial product with a tainted supply chain, or an exquisite and ethically created specialty that delivers complexity, flavor, and health, while uplifting people and planet. How to tell the difference? We’ll look at how cacao is harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, ground, and developed into finished chocolate, and at how to choose chocolate consciously by deciphering labels, as we enjoy a tasting trip from cocoa bean to chocolate bar. We’ll focus on the rise of “craft” or “bean-to-bar” chocolate, and sample the work of small-batch chocolate makers, as we peer back into the history and ahead to the future of one of the most beloved foods in the world.

I’ll share exquisite craft chocolate from:

On a visit to Potomac Chocolate
On a visit to Potomac Chocolate
With Ben and Cyndi of Potomac Chocolate

Photos and info from my 2024 and 2023 appearances at the Festival are at this link: https://chocolateuplift.com/2024/04/26/the-value-of-chocolate-talk-at-the-dc-chocolate-festival/ .

Onward and upward!

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie
Valerie Beck

Chocolate Uplift Founder 

Professor Valerie Beck 

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valerie@chocolateuplift.com