A History and Science of Chocolate
Join the HCC for an informative session on the science of chocolate. Harvard faculty member Dr. Carla Martin will discuss the history of chocolate and Beth Kirsch of Beth's chocolates will provide a chocolate tasting to accompany the presentation.
Carla D. Martin is a Lecturer and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in African and African American Studies at Harvard University. She has published in academic journals ranging from Management Information Systems Quarterly, Social Dynamics, Land, Socio.hu, and Transition: An International Review; the American Anthropological Association's member magazine, Anthropology News; and several edited volumes. She is currently a Principal Investigator on the research project “Towards a Cocoa Producer-Focused Climate Policy in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.” Read samples of her published work at ResearchGate.
Martin's research as a socially engaged anthropologist is presently focused on the ethics of labor in cocoa and chocolate, and before that on the politics of language and music in Cabo Verde and its diaspora. Her work draws liberally from anti-colonial thought, the Black radical tradition, contemporary social science, and histories of ethical and moral movements. She lectures widely and has taught extensively in African and African American Studies, critical food studies, social anthropology, and ethnomusicology, receiving numerous awards in recognition of excellence in research and teaching, including The Harvard Crimson's Professor of the Year recognition and the Anya Bernstein Bassett Award for Excellence in Teaching. She received her Ph.D. in African and African American Studies and M.A. and B.A. in Social Anthropology at Harvard University.
Additionally, Martin founded and serves as the President of the Board of the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research (ICCR), a scholar-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to reducing information asymmetry in the cocoa-chocolate value chain. This work has brought her into community with workers at cocoa farms and chocolate factories in dozens of countries.
Martin's public scholarship, including book-length reports, white papers and policy briefs, translations, podcasts, and video presentations, has been featured by the National Park Service, National Council on Public History, Harvard Museums, Revista: The Harvard Review of Latin America, U.S. History Scene, the Specialty Coffee Association's 25 Magazine, and ICCR's many multimedia channels.
Beth Kirsch Chocolatier
My goal when making artisan chocolates is to create confections that look beautiful, taste extraordinary, and offer a moment of pure bliss when you experience them. I use high-quality French chocolate and fresh ingredients such as home-roasted espresso beans, mint leaves, Madagascar vanilla beans, roasted nuts, wine, liqueurs, tea leaves, and homemade fruit purées. I make them in small batches, all by hand. I don’t use preservatives ever and rarely add sugar unless it’s essential (when making caramel, for example).
Many chocolatiers start out as pastry chefs; I came to chocolate after spending much of my professional life producing children’s media, including the PBS literacy series Between the Lions (for which I earned 3 Emmy Awards). I’ve discovered that making television and making chocolates have much in common—both require imagination, inspiration, creativity, attention to detail, artistry, and a desire to share your creations with an appreciative audience.
My chocolates have won more than a dozen awards—including 6 International Chocolate Awards (Americas competition), 3 international awards from the London-based Academy of Chocolate, and a Truffle Artistry award from the International Chocolate Salon. My Pomegranate and my Single Malt Whisky bonbons both won coveted Gold awards; Ginger 3 Ways, Cappuccino, Fig-in-a-Box, Maple Liqueur, and Lemon Pepper Bars all earned Silver. ¡Mexican Fiesta!, Limesicle, Spiced Honey Orange, and Crème de Cassis bonbons have also won awards. As a newcomer to the world of chocolate, I am thrilled to be honored by three prestigious organizations that focus on recognizing fine chocolates from around the world.
I eat chocolate just about every day…it never fails to make me feel happy. As Winnie-the-Pooh once said about balloons, nobody can be uncheered by chocolate.
Cost: $10.00 for members; $15.00 for nonmembers