Chocolate Uplift and HLSWA

**Update 12/16/2020: What a fun, fascinating, and delicious chocolate tasting we had today via video conference! Thank you for your awesome participation, or for visiting this page even if you didn’t have the chance to join the call!

As promised, here are links to shop the craft chocolate bars from the different sets, plus links to retailers who buy wholesale from me and where you can find multiple craft chocolate brands including many of the below; please note that not all bars are available in all countries at the current time:

Brands in our sets

9th & Larkin Chocolate of San Francisco, woman-owned, Lan puts her husband to work roasting cacao sometimes

Baiani Chocolates of Brazil, wife/husband-owned, wife Juliana is the chocolate maker

Crow & Moss Chocolate of Michigan, husband is chocolate maker, wife does their graphic design

Dick Taylor Chocolate of Eureka, California

Honest Chocolate of Cape Town, South Africa

Manoa Chocolate of Hawaii

Xocolatl Chocolate of Atlanta, wife/husband-owned, signatory to the Nestle and Cargill v Doe amicus brief linked below

VAICACAO of Italy, wife/husband-owned, both are chocolate makers

US retailers who will ship anywhere

Cocoa & Co., woman-owned in Chicago

Gourmet Boutique, woman-owned in Boston

Honeycreeper Chocolate, woman-owned in Birmingham, Alabama

Rare Bird Preserves, woman-owned in Oak Park, Illinois

Yahara Chocolate of Wisconsin, possibly the most extensive selection of craft chocolate anywhere

Please tell any of the brands or retailers I sent you!

I’d love to hear what you choose or what your favorites were from your set, or your thoughts on Nestle and Cargill v Doe, or thoughts or questions on anything else.

Thank you!

Valerie

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

Feel free to follow me or say hi on Instagram at @chocolateuplift!

**

Hello!

I am excited and thankful for a special virtual chocolate tasting for the Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance, with my sister alumnae!

Below is the welcome letter going out with the craft chocolate tasting kits, and below that is information on the chocolate bars in the kits, and on how to recognize ethical chocolate, as well as updates on Nestle and Cargill v. Doe, a case about child slave labor in Big Chocolate brands in which the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month.

Thank you, and enjoy!

Valerie

Valerie Beck (HLS ’96)

Founder/CEO Chocolate Uplift

Craft Chocolate Distribution and Consulting

Click for more about me, including bios and video!

Welcome Letter

Hello and welcome to our virtual chocolate tasting!

The craft chocolate bars I’ve selected are enclosed, and we’re going to have a fun, fascinating, and delicious time!

Here is our plan:

1. Anticipation: Please don’t eat the chocolate yet! (Step 1 is the hardest!) We can taste it together during the Final 2020 Chapters Call:

Date:  Wednesday, December 16

Time:  10:15 AM (PDT) / 1:15 PM (EDT) to 11:30 AM (PDT) / 2:30 PM (EDT)

Dial-in: Details to arrive electronically

2. Storage: I recommend storing your chocolate in a cool, dry place, and not in the refrigerator where the moisture can cause the chocolate to “bloom,” or develop chalkiness. 

3.  Tasting: During the call, I’ll walk us through a guided tasting so that we can talk about the history and health benefits of chocolate, how to recognize ethical chocolate, and a related recent Supreme Court case, and so that we can simply enjoy craft chocolate and a festive gathering!

For more information in advance about the chocolate bars in your kit and on craft chocolate in general — such as about my 5 Ss of first-class chocolate: slavery-free, soy-free, sustainable, small-batch, and scrumptious — please see www.chocolateuplift.com/hlswa

I look forward to our virtual chocolate tasting, and am grateful to HLSWA for hosting this special event!

Thank you, and happy holidays!

Valerie

Valerie Beck (HLS ‘96)

Founder/CEO Chocolate Uplift 

Craft Chocolate Distribution and Consulting

www.chocolateuplift.com

P.S. Here is my favorite Aztec-inspired hot chocolate recipe; feel free to sip during our presentation:

4 tablespoons drinking chocolate mix or finely chopped chocolate bar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon orange zest

Whisk dry ingredients with up to 1 cup hot water or your favorite milk, top with orange zest, and enjoy!

*****

Cacao pod from Ecuador

Ethical Chocolate

Commercial chocolate / big-brand chocolate comes from a supply chain with child labor, forced labor, and deforestation and other environmental degradations.

How to recognize and choose craft chocolate instead, which nourishes people and planet?

Look for my 5 Ss of first-class chocolate:

*slavery-free — Look for the cacao country of origin on the label. If you see none, chances are you have non-traceable bulk cacao, which comes from tainted supply chains.

*soy-free — Look for the presence or absence of soy lecithin or other processed ingredients on the label. These indicate industrial chocolate and also have negative health effects.

*sustainable — Does the brand tell you about the cacao they sourced, and about their packaging?

*small-batch — The big brands are all complicit in child labor, farmer poverty, deforestation, and overuse of chemical pesticides. Look for small brands making a difference.

*scrumptious! — Chocolate is about enjoyment!

Cacao nibs
In the grinder
Chocolate goes with everything!

*****

Tasting kits for our HLSWA virtual event

Chocolate bars in most US Mainland tasting kits:

  • @crowandmosschocolate Bolivian Rose Salt chocolate bar, made from Colombian cacao plus cane sugar, with a gentle sprinkling of Bolivian pink salt. This fruit-forward bar reminds me of childhood visits to Michigan, where my mom spent part of her childhood on a small family farm!
  • @dicktaylorchocolate Brazil, made in Eureka, California, is sophisticated and rich, and reminds me of the years I lived in Europe, where the idea to create the world’s first chocolate tours came to me, as a chocolate-obsessed exchange student in Paris in 1989!
  • @xocolatlchocolate Kissed Mermaids, made in Atlanta, is light, bright, and topped with cacao nibs, and you know how excited I get about cacao nibs, and about blue and white! A cheerful bar! Plus, this is the first batch on Uganda cacao (instead of Costa Rica), grown by the Semuliki Forest collective of around 1,000 family farmers, and I love the rich notes of warm spice on a core note of straight-ahead chocolate!

Alternate bar in NY/NJ kits:

Chocolate bars in a San Francisco tasting kit:

Photo by 9th & Larkin Chocolate

Craft chocolate brand in Hawaii tasting kit:

Photo by Manoa Chocolate

Craft chocolate brand in Brazil tasting kit:

Craft chocolate brand in Europe tasting kits:

Craft chocolate brand in South Africa tasting kit:

Photo by Honest Chocolate

*****

Cacao

Info on Nestle and Cargill v. Doe

Washington Post article

Video debrief featuring the attorney who made the recent argument before the Supreme Court, and other attorneys involved

Amicus brief filed by craft chocolate makers (including Xocolatl Chocolate, which we are tasting in our US Mainland kits)

Symposium of articles about the case from Just Security, based at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law

*****

Thank you and keep eating real chocolate!

Sweet Speaker: Virtual Chocolate Tastings

Hello!

*****New: Virtual Chocolate Tastings! I’ll be the “sweet speaker” at your next corporate or other event, even if it’s via Zoom, by bringing my chocolate and presentation expertise to you via a virtual chocolate tasting!

In-person events are also available!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Choose your chocolate theme for my presentation, such as
    • History and Health Benefits of Chocolate,
    • Women in Chocolate, or
    • What’s In Your Chocolate: Making Conscious Chocolate Choices.
  2. I’ll send our agreed chocolate for the tasting to your location or to each participant prior to the event, so that participants can taste the chocolate live during the presentation. Or, if you prefer to have participants order chocolate individually, I can add a special chocolate set to my online boutique for your group to select, or guests can choose from what’s available.
  3. I’ll hold the presentation live on your Zoom or other platform, and we’ll have a blast! You can record it if you wish, to share with others in your organization.

The cost is the retail cost of the chocolate plus tax and shipping, plus a $30/person event fee. Or, we can arrange a flat fee; contact me at valerie@chocolateuplift.com to discuss.

Plus, you can choose from a rotating selection of fun Chocolate Uplift mugs and tees and the like from my merchandise store, with or without booking a virtual tasting. Custom merchandise is also available, such as with your logo and mine, or with a special message for your event participants!

Click here for my “sizzle reel” to get a sense of my presentation style through a montage of tv news clips, and click here for a recent podcast I did for the Chicago Bar Association Foundation on tasting chocolate and changing careers.

And, see below for my speakers one-sheet along with additional information, videos, bio, partial list of presentations and keynotes given, and testimonials like this one from Thanksgiving week 2020:

Hi Valerie,

The chocolate tasting was far beyond my expectations – thank you so much!! The chocolate selections were incredible and I’m so glad that everyone (especially the kids) got a better understanding of what goes into commercial vs. craft chocolate. You led us through everything so skillfully and we loved learning about the history and health benefits of chocolate. It was such a remarkable experience. I so appreciate your making it possible to experience it with my beloved sisters.

With admiration,
Laurie

Thank you, and I hope to see you or Zoom with you soon!

Onward and upward!

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

Valerie Beck

Founder/CEO Chocolate Uplift

Craft Chocolate Consulting, Distribution, Speaking

www.chocolateuplift.com

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

IG: @chocolateuplift

***** Additional info: *****

Speaking

Request Chocolate Uplift founder and “sweet speaker” Valerie Beck as the speaker at your next convention, meeting, association conference, networking event, or other gathering, by contacting us at chocolateuplift@gmail.com.

Click for videos – such as

or click for Valerie’s bio, and see Valerie’s speakers one-sheet below.

“Onward and upward!”

Valerie Beck

Speaker, Entrepreneur, Author, Chocolate Expert

  •   Successful entrepreneur and founder of the original chocolate tours
  •   Cheerful chocolate expert
  •   Inspirational author
  •   Chocolate and business consultant
  •   Adjunct professor
  •   Former attorney
  •   Harvard College and Harvard Law grad
  •   Inspiring and uplifting speaker

Highlighted speaking topic: 

  • Chocolate Wellness: What’s In Your Chocolate?

Details: hear my tips on chocolate-enhanced wellness, presented in a fun and uplifting way, including:

  • the number 1 ingredient to beware of in commercial chocolate,
  • how to decode chocolate bar labels and identify the right kind of artisan chocolate,
  • how to maximize chocolate’s health benefits, 
  • how to avoid GMOs and artificial ingredients,
  • what “natural ingredients” are and why they sometimes mean you should back away from the shelf,
  • how to taste and enjoy craft chocolate – which we’ll do at the talk! – and
  • more!

‘Keep eating chocolate!'” ~ Valerie

Other requested speaking topics:

  • Ethical Chocolate: Sustainability Challenges and Solutions 
  • Chocolate: History, Health Benefits, Myths, Magnificence  
  • ABCs of Success: Attitude, Belief, Commitment
    • How to use these simple concepts for success in any business or endeavor
  •   Sweet Life: How to Follow Your Heart and Take Your Brain With You
    • Start discovering or keep refining your heart’s desire, and be a “practical dreamer”
  •   Alternative Careers for Lawyers
  •   Sweet Startup: What Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Passion, Profit, and Persistence
  •   Social Media Marketing
  •   Chocolate 2032: Trends in the World of Chocolate

Topics are customizable for your group. And presentations come with chocolate!

Client categories include: 

  •   Conventions and association meetings
  •   Law firms – particularly law firm women’s initiatives 
  •   Cruises
  •   Executives
  •   Students
  •   Women’s groups
  •   Corporate wellness days
  •   Corporate motivational days

Valerie has spoken at organizations including: 

  • Walgreens
  • Cigna
  • ASHRAE
  • other corporations ranging from small and mid-sized to Fortune 500
  • other large, mid-sized, and small non-profits
  • the Chicago Bar Association
  • The Law Bulletin
  • the U.S. Department of Education’s Council on Legal Education Opportunity
  • Northwestern Law School
  • her alma mater Harvard Law School
  • her alma mater Harvard College
  • University of Chicago
  • the Coleman Center for Entrepreneurship
  • Lexington College
  • DePaul University School of Hospitality
  • Loyola University
  • Kendall College
  • National Association for Catering and Events
  • National Customer Service Association
  • Illinois Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with World Chicago and the US Department of State
  • Illinois Diversity Council
  • Chicago City Treasurer business education sessions
  • Culinary Historians of Chicago
  • Women’s Innovation Network – WIN
  • Geneva Women in Business
  • eWomenNetwork
  • Professional Women’s Network
  • Daily Herald Business Ledger

Testimonials 

“If you ever want to get fully enrobed in everything chocolate, then seek out Valerie Beck. She leaves no cacao bean unturned as she takes aficionados on a magic chocolate ride where one is dipped into artisanal producing, social awareness, and luscious tasting.”

  Scott Warner

  Culinary Historians of Chicago

“Valerie is an exuberant and extraordinary speaker who superbly involves the audience as she presents such interesting facts about chocolate and wellness.  She is very friendly and personable, yet a cylinder of dynamite showering listeners with delightful energy!  The manner in which she shares her heart, soul, lively humor and vast knowledge makes her presentations quite enjoyable.  Valerie is highly recommended as a speaker to your group!”

 Co-chair of ladies organization, Springfield, IL

“Valerie is an enthusiastic and engaging speaker who is passionate and knowledgeable about her topic.  Her comprehensive, informative and fun presentation was well received by our audience of professional and executive women.”

  Christine Osvald-Mruz

  Co-chair, STRIDES, Advancing Women in Business

“Valerie’s positive energy is contagious and her delivery is vivacious and engaging.   Every entrepreneur and professional can benefit from her uplifting messages and sensible business advice.  Listening to Valerie’s stories and expertise is guaranteed to be an inspiring and invigorating experience.”

   Erika Herrera

   Co-Founder, Sandpiper Imports Inc.

 “Valerie is charming, graceful and feminine. At the same time she is powerful, captivating and persuasive. She is knowledgeable about her subject matter and makes an excellent and very professional presentation. I’m looking forward to inviting her to speak to my group again..and again.”

  Patrice Turner

   Managing Director

  eWomenNetwork

 “Valerie Beck is an established speaker who is confident, well prepared and full of energy. She presents with enthusiasm, knowledge, and engagement. Her sunny perspective and will light up any room and is well loved by all. This bubbly professional is born to speak as getting in front of an audience comes naturally.  I highly recommend Valerie for your next speaking function.”

 Mary Doherty

 Send Out Cards

“Valerie is energetic and welcoming. As a speaker, her passion for others, supporting individuals in their personal and professional growth and for making a difference in people’s lives comes through. She is sincere, believable and engaging. I wouldn’t hesitate to invite her to share fables, enthusiasm and inspiration as a speaker.”

  Maureen Blaha

  Executive Director, National Runaway Safeline

“Since I saw Valerie present over three years ago, I can’t say enough about her endless charisma, business intelligence, passion, and professionalism. Valerie is not only a successful business owner, but a leader and an effective speaker in the business community. I highly value her expertise and would recommend her presentations to colleagues of any level.”

  Michael Moody, Author and Personal Trainer in Chicago   (www.michaelmoodyfitness.com)

Fees

[In person:] Generally $1,500 for nonprofit organizations, or $5,000 for law firms and corporations, plus travel and accommodations. Negotiable.

See Valerie in action in our videos, and contact us about booking Valerie as a “sweet speaker” for your organization: chocolateuplift@gmail.com

Here’s to Uplift Through Chocolate!

Wisconsin event: The Full Chocolate

full-chocolate-graphic

 

Update: here are the slides from my talk on The Full Chocolate: Where Chocolate Comes From and What’s in Your Chocolate, at an exciting and delicious event held August 2, 2019, at amazing Yahara Chocolate in sweet historic Stoughton, Wisconsin! As always, please see the comments section of each slide for the juicy info and video links!

In addition, below are some photos from the event; more are on my Instagram under hashtag #WisconsinAugust2019. Thank you and hope to see you next time!

*****

Hello!

Are you a chocolate lover in the Madison, Wisconsin, area? I’m excited to give a talk on The Full Chocolate — how chocolate goes from bean to bar — with craft chocolate tasting at Yahara Chocolate in Stoughton, WI, Friday 8/2/19 at 7pm, and to host informal tastings there Saturday 8/3/19 from 10am to 3pm!

We’re going to have around 10 different chocolate bars to sample, plus cacao beans, nibs, and pulp! Details are here for Friday, and here for Saturday. Hope to see you there!

20190730_151546
Here is some of the scrumptiousness I’m bringing to Yahara Chocolate for dear Brook, the store owner, who is assembling an amazing collection of craft chocolate, wouldn’t you agree!

IMG_20190727_173159_832
I’m also bringing the outrageously delicious new Mint Brownie bar by Violet Sky Chocolate; Brook selected it at his daughter’s insistence!

Fun side note: my first-year dorm at Harvard College and the town where Yahara Chocolate is located are both called Stoughton! Here are some photos from my return to Stoughton (the dorm) to serve as a Convocation Marshal and welcome the new first-year students last fall (I brought chocolate to that too, for the new students in my old dorm, and for my alumni friends). It’s all connected!

Meanwhile, see you in Stoughton, Wisconsin, if you’re around!

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

Valerie Beck

Founder, Chocolate Uplift

craft chocolate promotion

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriebeck/

Chocolate and Gender

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What a blast to give a talk and craft chocolate tasting for the amazing ladies of my Alumnae-i Network of Harvard Women group, at heavenly Hannah’s Bretzel in Chicago!

The head of the Chicago chapter asked if I could speak on chocolate and gender, and in fact this is a topic with interesting historical aspects. For example, would you be surprised to know that Aztec emperor Montezuma drank chocolate before visiting his wives, or that today much of the work on specialty cacao farms that grow some of the best cacao in the world is done by women?

Click here if you’re curious to see slides I shared during our delicious afternoon (my notes or video links to various relevant YouTube videos are in the comments to each slide)!

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We sampled these wonderful craft chocolate bars by Askinosie Chocolate, Dandelion Chocolate, Gotham Chocolates, Taza Chocolate, and Violet Sky Chocolate, which are all slavery-free, sustainable, soy-free and lecithin-free, small-batch, and scrumptious! We also sampled cacao from Cacao Marquez, and had coffee from Hannah’s Bretzel, our generous venue host where all of these chocolate bars are available (so is the delicious fresh pretzel)!

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With ANHW Chicago Chapter President Litcy Kurisinkal (left)

Need a “sweet speaker” for your group? Click for my speaking engagement info or contact me at chocolateuplift@gmail.com!

Here are my slides again from this presentation, and thank you to all who made the event possible and all who attended!

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

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Valerie Beck

Founder/CEO Chocolate Uplift

https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriebeck/

Delicious Ethics: What’s in Your Chocolate, Who Grew Your Cacao?

Hello there!

20181115_190658
Craft chocolate and sustainable cacao for my talk at NW Choc on Delicious Ethics!

Click for the presentation I developed for my talk at the 2018 Northwest Chocolate Festival in sweet Seattle, entitled

Delicious Ethics: What’s in Your Chocolate, Who Grew Your Cacao?

To support cacao and chocolate that are slavery-free and sustainable, you can use the #chocolatefreedomproject hashtag, purchase transparent-trade chocolate, and let brands know you care about what’s in your chocolate, and who grew your cacao.

Thank you and keep eating real chocolate!

Onward and upward!

Valerie

IMG_20181109_133425_228
On my way to sweet Seattle for the talk and chocolate festival!

Valerie Beck

Founder/CEO Chocolate Uplift

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

Sustainable Chocolate Brokering, Distribution, Consulting, Speaking

 

 

Culinary Historians podcast – yours truly talks chocolate!

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Here’s some of the delicious craft chocolate and specialty cacao we tasted at my talk for Culinary Historians – click for the podcast!

Hello!

Need a lift? The awesome group Culinary Historians of Chicago just uploaded the podcast of the upbeat chocolate- and giggle-filled talk I gave for them in September 2017, and here it is!

It’s called “From Cacao to Craft Chocolate: Stories from the Past, Sustainability for the Future,” and I hope you enjoy it! [Note: Podcast ends abruptly during question period due to technical issues.]

Need a talk and tasting for your group? Here are some details!

Your friend and “sweet speaker” in chocolate,

Valerie

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

after the talk
After the Culinary Historians talk, with my Kendall College student helpers!

The Law of Chocolate: Cocoa Blue Chocolates

by Valerie Beck, Chocolate Expert

Precise sophistication with a dash of whimsy
Luscious truffles made onsite at Cocoa Blue Chocolates

Would you be surprised if I told you that one of the best new chocolate shops in the US is in central Illinois, 200 miles from Chicago?

Cocoa Blue Chocolates is a first-class chocolate kitchen and boutique, in Rochester, Illinois, a town of 3,600 people located 7 miles from state capital Springfield, Illinois.

Exploring and tasting at Cocoa Blue
Cocoa pods and chocolate truffles: exploring and tasting at Cocoa Blue

Chocolate follows laws of temperature, starting with the fact that cacao trees like to grow in hot, humid climates near the equator. But good chocolate making or chocolate shops don’t necessarily depend on geography; some of the best chocolate in the world is made in the Midwest, such as Askinosie chocolate which led the bean-to-bar or craft chocolate movement and is located in the Ozarks of Missouri. And how many people would have predicted a generation ago that then-downmarket Brooklyn would become a hotbed of upscale craft chocolate?

Sweet heartland
Sweet Illinois heartland

So what was I doing in central Illinois? In my role as a professional speaker, I was invited to give a talk to an influential philanthropic ladies group in Springfield, IL. Click here for my blog post on that tasty talk, and on sweet Springfield. I had heard about Cocoa Blue and reached out. I boarded the train in my hometown of Chicago, and my first priority after getting off the train in Springfield, where my fabulous host from the ladies group picked me up, was to visit Cocoa Blue!

In a historically significant building in Rochester, Illinois
Cocoa Blue is in a historically significant building in Rochester, Illinois. Rain? What rain? Chocolate! Truly, our farmers had been hoping for this rain.

Cocoa Blue chocolatier/owner Joshua Becker makes delicious truffles, chocolate bark, and more, using top-quality ingredients. It was a pleasure touring his kitchen and shop and talking with him about his vision to create classic chocolates, his pastry and chocolate training, and the new tempering machine he’s ordered – another law of chocolate is that it must be “tempered” or properly crystallized through correct temperature changes while mixing, otherwise it won’t stay smooth or glossy. For more, see David Lebovitz’s famous post on How to Temper Chocolate.

Tempering chocolate in the kitchen at Cocoa Blue
Tempering chocolate, in the current tempering machine, in the kitchen at Cocoa Blue

Another law of chocolate: chocolate seems to attract former lawyers! Joshua and I are both former attorneys (and indeed so is Shawn Askinosie).

If Springfield’s “favorite son” Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer, hadn’t become the 16th President of the United States, would he have become a chocolatier? Pure speculation of course! But, before Lincoln, the Founding Fathers certainly loved chocolate – for instance, Benjamin Franklin used to sell it out of his print shop in Philadelphia – but that’s a story for another day.

In the kitchen at the recreated Lincoln White House at the Lincoln Museum
In the kitchen at the recreated Lincoln White House at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which I visited in Springfield and which is one of the most exceptional museums in the US. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I often stage chocolate on beloved blue and white china at home with hashtags #blueandwhiteforever and #blueandwhiteobsession. What a treat to see one of the classic patterns at President Lincoln’s museum too. I (barely) resisted the urge to place a Cocoa Blue bonbon on one of the plates and snap an Instagram!

In the kitchen
In the kitchen at Cocoa Blue

Joshua and I discussed similarities in our backgrounds: he became interested in becoming a chocolatier after spending time in The Netherlands as a study-abroad student; my transformative chocolate moment that ultimately inspired me to start my business took place while studying in Paris, when I tasted my first piece of truly fine European chocolate.

We both went to law school and became lawyers, and both exited that profession for something sweeter: Joshua attended Le Cordon Bleu, fulfilled his dream of becoming a chocolatier, and embarked on the next phase of his journey by opening Cocoa Blue. I started the original Chocolate Tours, grew my business across the US (including in Philly, where our chocolate tour groups paused outside Ben Franklin’s above-mentioned chocolatey print shop), exited the tour business, and am now the founder/CEO of Chocolate Uplift where my talks, consulting and brokering work, and Chocolate Freedom Project take me to places as diverse as New York City, Ecuador, and central Illinois. Click for a podcast on my story of leaving the law.

Delicious Illinois chocolates by Cocoa Blue for my Springfield talk on chocolate wellnes
World class chocolate: outrageously delicious Illinois chocolates by Cocoa Blue for my Springfield talk on chocolate wellness

Back to Cocoa Blue’s exquisite chocolates: I was impressed by the purity of flavor, precision of technique, and respect for the classics, plus Joshua’s special creative touches. For example, the dark chocolate truffle was rich yet clean, with pure chocolate notes – precisely what a top-quality classic truffle should be.

Luscious truffles made onsite at Cocoa Blue Chocolates
Handmade: precise sophistication with a dash of whimsy at Cocoa Blue Chocolates

Then there was the marvelous chocolate macadamia bark. Macadamia nuts aren’t frequently paired with chocolate, but I think you’d agree with me that they should be after tasting Cocoa Blue’s white and dark versions. The creaminess of the nut harmonized with the creaminess of the chocolate, while the roasted and salted aspects gave a nice counterpoint to the sweetness.

Look what came home with me: magnificent white chocolate macadamia bark
Look what came home to Chicago with me from Cocoa Blue: magnificent white chocolate macadamia bark. The dark chocolate macadamia bark didn’t make it home, or even to a closeup photo, as I ate – savored! – it so quickly. #blueandwhiteforever #blueandwhiteobsession

Cocoa Blue Chocolates are delightfully classic, deceptively simple, and deliciously innovative.

“Keep eating real chocolate!”

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

With Joshua Becker of Cocoa Blue
Dark and white macadamia bark in hand, with Joshua Becker of Cocoa Blue

Valerie Beck, The Chocolate Queen

CEO/Founder Chocolate Uplift

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

Instagram: @chocolateuplift

Sweet Springfield: Chocolate Wellness Talk and Honest Abe

by Valerie Beck, Chocolate Expert and Sweet Speaker

Have chocolate, will travel
Have chocolate, will travel

What do chocolate and President Abraham Lincoln have in common?

They have honesty in common, when the chocolate is made with real ingredients and fairly traded cocoa beans.

Why the “Honest Abe” comparison at all?

Because I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time in sprightly Springfield, Illinois, 200 miles from my home in Chicago, where I gave a chocolate wellness talk, and where Abraham Lincoln lived much of his adult life, practiced law, campaigned for office, and was returned for burial after his assassination.

Old State House in Springfield, IL
Old State Capitol in Springfield, IL, a powerful Abraham Lincoln site for Illinoisans like me and for all other Lincoln enthusiasts

I traveled to the Illinois state capital at the kind invitation of an influential ladies philanthropic organization to speak about chocolate wellness, and we had a marvelous and delicious time. Of course I also took some time to re-visit one of the best museums in the US – the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum – and to do some Springfield “chocolate scouting.”

Heartland
Midwest moment

Where chocolate begins: sharing cacao at my talk
Where chocolate begins: magnesium-rich and health benefit-filled cacao, which I shared at my talk

The audience enjoyed lunch and dessert before my talk and chocolate tasting
Dessert before dessert: the audience enjoyed lunch and dessert before my talk and chocolate tasting

One of the elements of my talk involved playing a game I created called “Sometimes, Always, Never: What’s Really In Your Chocolate.” The way it works: I explain which ingredients and origins to look for in chocolate bars, and which to avoid. Then we have audience members read the labels on a variety of chocolate bars I’ve brought, and we talk about where the cocoa beans came from, and what the ingredients are in each chocolate bar are. Knowing the health, labor, and environmental benefits or risks, the group decides whether each chocolate bar is one that they might sometimes choose for themselves and their families, one that they can always feel good about choosing, or one that they would never want in their household.

The game resulted in some surprises as it does every time, and then of course we ate the chocolate bars that the group decided to put into the “Always” pile! This included delicious, healthful, fair trade chocolate bars by Alter Eco, Dick Taylor, and El Dorado. The latter is made in Ecuador and is not yet available in the US, and this group was my first group to sample it!

Inside joke: Dick Taylor craft chocolate from California meets Dick Taylor Collision Services of Illinois
Inside joke: Dick Taylor craft chocolate from California meets Dick Taylor Collision Services of Illinois

I was impressed with the group, and moved by the glowing testimonial I received:

“Valerie is an exuberant and extraordinary speaker who superbly involves the audience as she presents such interesting facts about chocolate and wellness.  She is very friendly and personable, yet a cylinder of dynamite showering listeners with delightful energy!  The manner in which she shares her heart, soul, lively humor and vast knowledge makes her presentations quite enjoyable.  Valerie is highly recommended as a speaker to your group!”

  Janie Rast, Ladies organization, Springfield, IL

Great state of Illinois chocolate by first-class local chocolatier Cocoa Blue for my audience
Great state of Illinois chocolate by first-class local chocolatier Cocoa Blue for my audience. Honest Abe would have approved. Click for my blog post on Cocoa Blue.

Thank you, Ladies of Springfield! I appreciate your hospitality, eagerness to hear about chocolate’s health benefits, and openness to my Chocolate Freedom Project to raise awareness of child slave labor on West African cocoa farms and of fair trade alternatives that are healthier and more delicious. “Keep eating real chocolate!”

Honored to have dinner - and dessert - at the home of the dear chocolate lover who invited me to town
I was honored to have dinner – and a very chocolatey dessert – at the home of the dear chocolate lover who invited me to speak in Springfield; we connected because she and her husband had been on my Chocolate Tours years ago when I operated that business.

There’s even more deliciousness to this sweet Springfield story:

I arrived in Springfield the day before my talk and checked into the Inn at 835, a captivating antiques-filled bed-and-breakfast. The rooms were lovely, breakfast was delicious, wine and cheese hour at night was a charming touch, and the chocolate chip cookies at bedtime were the ultimate!

Bedtime chocolate chip cookies served at the Inn at 835
Sweet dreams at the Inn at 835

From the Inn, it was a short walk to the Abraham Lincoln Museum. This was my third trip to Springfield since this exceptional museum opened 10 years ago, and I’ve visited the Lincoln Museum each time. I continue to  notice additional details in the exhibits, such as the pile of legal papers in the re-creation of Lincoln’s utterly disorderly law office marked “if you can’t find it, look here.”

Children's art at the Lincoln Museum
Children’s art display at the Lincoln Museum

The exhibit that shows the 4-year Civil War in 4 minutes, using a video map of the US, music, and a running tally of the dead, but no spoken words, always makes me weep. And the exhibit in which the late journalist Tim Russert broadcasts about the 4-way presidential race “Campaign 1860” always makes me smile.

Vegan friendly Cafe Andiamo
Delicious chocolate cake doughnut at vegan-friendly Cafe Andiamo, against a background of local art by Billinda DeVillez

I followed my museum visit with some chocolate scouting – of course! – and some sightseeing, and enjoyed every element of my sweet Springfield visit.

Dana-Thomas House by Frank Lloyd Wright
Springfield’s Dana-Thomas House by Frank Lloyd Wright

Cafe Moxo
Cookies galore at Cafe Moxo, including chocolate chip cinnamon raisin

Your friend in “honest chocolate,”

Valerie

3rd from right with some of Springfield's philanthropic ladies
3rd from right with some of Springfield’s philanthropic ladies

Valerie Beck, The Chocolate Queen

CEO/Founder Chocolate Uplift

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

Instagram: @chocolateuplift

Pastrylove: Alliance Patisserie

Pastrylove: Alliance Patisserie

Macarons at Alliance Patisserie
Macaron love at Alliance Patisserie

The first time I had French pastries in France was as a 19-year-old Harvard College senior studying abroad in Paris.

Paris love, age 19
Paris love, age 19

That trip put me on a mission to spread fine chocolate and pastry, led to my founding of the original Chocolate Tours in Chicago and beyond, and – after closing the chocolate tours earlier this year – still continues to inspire me as I speak and consult about chocolate.

Pastry peek at Alliance Patisserie
Pastry peek at Alliance Patisserie

Chef Peter Rios has opened a little bit of Paris in Chicago, with his new Alliance Patisserie. Pastry followers worldwide may know Chef Peter as the owner of Alliance Bakery, also in Chicago, known for innovative specialty cakes and more, or may know him through one of his many incarnations as pastry chef superstar.

alliance patisserie
Scenes at Alliance Patisserie…

courtyard

moody matcha and chocolate passionfruit macarons

cafe

choc hazelnut kronut and hot choc

pastry case

Chef Peter told me it has always been his dream to open a shop focusing on French pastry, ever since he graduated from Kendall College and later studied with pastry giants such as the great Pierre Herme in Paris.

His dream came true, and Alliance Patisserie now helps the dreams of others come true, whether by sharing some of the best macarons or classic French pastries outside of Paris, or by serving as the romantic site of a marriage proposal, which I was thrilled and honored to facilitate for a lovely couple after a chocolate tasting I led for them in the shop!

We tucked the ring into the pastry case...
I arranged with the groom to tuck the ring into the pastry case…

...she said yes!
…she said yes!

Chocolate and pastry are all about love.

v day treats

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

Valerie Beck

Chocolate Expert, Sweet Speaker, Chocolate Consultant

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

Instagram @chocolateuplift

“Uplift Through Chocolate!”

Chocolate and Fruit: Nemzer Chocolate

Chocolate and Fruit: Nemzer Chocolate

Feeling tropical: chocolate and pineapple
Feeling tropical: chocolate and pineapple bar by Nemzer Chocolate

Think about this any time you need a lift: chocolate comes from fruit!

Chocolate is of course made from cocoa beans (cacao), which are the seeds of the fruit of the cacao tree. The seeds are harvested, dried, fermented, roasted, ground, and fashioned into chocolate.

Organic Ecuadorian cacao
Organic Ecuadorian cacao

Why is cacao so loaded with health benefits, that it’s considered a superfood? Because it’s plant-based. It comes from fruit. It can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, it’s a metabolism booster and anti-inflammatory, and it’s filled with valuable vitamins and minerals.

So how delightful to discover a new brand from California, Nemzer Chocolate, which incorporates freeze dried fruit into dark chocolate. Since chocolate comes from fruit, these chocolate bars are basically a fruit salad!

Chocolate and banana bar
Chocolate and banana bar in action

Chocolate and raspberry
Chocolate and raspberry

Founder Roman Nemzer bases his chocolate on a French recipe, and the flavors are nicely balanced, with a mild and chocolatey 65% cacao.

French flair, freeze dried fruit, California cool. That’s a fruit salad!

Your friend in chocolate,

Valerie

Valerie Beck

Chocolate Expert, Speaker, Consultant

www.valeriebeckchocolateuplift.com

chocolateuplift@gmail.com

“Uplift Through Chocolate!”