On the Chocolate Trail

I am very excited that the NYCs Bernard Museum exhibit, “Semi[te] Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate” based on my book, On the Chocolate Trail, will now be forging new paths as it travels around the country. We selected On the Chocolate Trail as the book title for a number of reasons. First, it evokes the diffusion of

Recent media featured projects on the chocolate trail in celebration of Valentine’s Day and “Semi[te] Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate” at the Bernard Museum, NYC. Of course, Florence Fabricant’s mention of the exhibit in the New York Times was a highlight. Now, these stories just within the last two weeks: In The Jewish Love Affair

I heard from Florence Fabricant at the New York Times that she would be including the “Semi{te} Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate” exhibit in her “Front Burner” column a couple of weeks prior to publication date. I rushed a few photos to her team. The fact checker followed up. And, voila! This item appeared on November

Excerpted from my remarks at Opening Night at Temple Emanu-El, NYC, October 20, 2017: Some people have books optioned for movies. I am so delighted that my book, On the Chocolate Trail (2nd Edition, 2017) has become a museum exhibit… Thank you, Warren Klein, for your professionalism, creativity and collegiality in creating Semite Sweet, which displays some

A stunning number of exhibits about chocolate, mostly on the East Coast, captured our attention in the last six months. Mark and I had the opportunity to visit three very different exhibits, what I call #3, 4 & 5. I reviewed the exhibit (#1) at Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), where I was honored to

Just as the Detroit Institute of Arts closes its wonderful Bitter|Sweet display of chocolate, coffee and tea, no need to despair. New York offers three additional exhibits. Setting aside the wondrous and elegant chocolate shops, at least three local museums currently exhibit artifacts related to the history and consumption of chocolate. For now, the new

Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for the invitation to speak at their event Chocolate, Coffee, and Judaism created in conjunction with the Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit “Bitter|Sweet: Coffee, Tea & Chocolate.” Not only did I have the opportunity to meet a curious audience, I also presented with Professor Howard Lupovitch

July 8, 2007 Astorga A chocolate center in the Maragateria area, with at least five chocolate stores crowded on one block. Astorga also hosts another chocolate museum! We wanted to buy this chocolate pot set, but it was not for sale. At stores everywhere these small tiles could be purchased. The Astorga Chocolate Museum, created

June 26, 2007 Villajoyosa Then to the Valor Chocolate Factory in Villajoyosa. The largest producer of chocolate in Spain, Valor uses very sensual and almost soft core,“adult” oriented pitches to sell the chocolate. We saw Nederland Cacao powder in the storage area and chocolate beans from Ghana. The audience, mostly families, giggled in appreciation at

June 24, 2007 Sueca In Valencia Province, the outdoor Sueca city map clearly identifies the Comes Chocolate Museum. Owned by fourth generation Comes family member, Pedro Melero, 400,000 people visit the museum each year. He buys his chocolate from a co-op; they decide what is best. It currently comes from Ghana. The Comes-Spanish-only video shows

June 18 – 19, 2007 Barcelona There’s a lot of chocolate here, partly because the 18th century port welcomed ships containing chocolate cargo. It therefore had and still does, chocolate factories and chocolate stores. Some of the chocolate factories do not have their own stores, such as Blanxart. Again, there are many opportunities for hot

June 10, 2007 The quantity of chocolate in Bayonne more than compensated for the lack in Bilbao. We arrived on Sunday, so we found the chocolate shops closed, sadly, but we did discover an Italian brand of hot chocolate at a local creperie.

As I am one of those people who can barely manage for only a few days without chocolate, I am surprised to find myself overwhelmed by the amount of chocolate in Belgium. Belgium offers a very intense chocolate experience, with over 2000 chocolate makers and outlets. It starts before I even land, with recommendations regarding