Cracking Open the Cocoa Bean

Finger Lakes Community College will host an insider’s look at the chocolate industry called “Cracking Open the Cocoa Bean” on Thursday, March 7 at the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive. The event begins at 5 p.m. in Stage 14 with talks by the owner of a cocoa bean company in Ghana and a Rochester chocolatier about ethical farming and business practices. The event is free and open to the public. The leadership at Laughing Gull Chocolates on East Main Street in Rochester will open the program to discuss principles behind their business. For example, the business buys from Latin American farms that use sustainable farming practices and provide fair wages, and they train youth at their store to contribute to workforce development. Founder and chief chocolatier Lindsay Tarnoff started the business in Rhode Island in 2014 then moved it to Rochester where she was joined by Allison Zukoski, chief financial officer, and Karla Boyle, chief operating officer and a former FLCC student. The second speaker is Steven Wallace, who founded the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company in Ghana in 1991. Wallace first learned about cocoa farming in Ghana as a 16-year-old exchange student and began thinking about not only growing cocoa in Ghana, but making the end product – a chocolate bar – there as well. The company makes the world’s first single-origin chocolate bar, a process that provides higher wages to farmers and factory workers. Wallace wrote about his experience in “Obroni and the Chocolate Factory: An Unlikely Story of Globalization and Ghana’s First Gourmet Chocolate Bar.” Kellie Gauvin of Pittsford, FLCC associate professor of biology, organized the event in cooperation with the owners of Laughing Gull Chocolates. Gauvin used chocolate in her first-year seminar class to teach about a wide range of biological topics, including biodiversity, microbial fermentation, and neurochemistry. In addition, the subject matter also allows her to introduce topics like social justice and ethical consumer choices. “Students and the public will learn about entrepreneurship, ethical business practices, and how chocolate fits into the picture,” Gauvin said. “They will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the business owners – and to taste the chocolates.” After the talk and time for questions from the audience, Laughing Gull will provide free chocolate tastings. Their products will also be available for sale. For more information about the event, contact Gauvin at Kellie.Gauvin@flcc.edu or call FLCC Community Affairs at (585) 785-1623.