An interview with Tom, co-founder of Goodnow Farms Chocolate.
@thechocpro: Could you briefly introduce yourself and Goodnow Farms?
I'm Tom Rogan and my wife Monica and I are the owners Goodnow Farms chocolate. We started the company in 2015, although we were making chocolate long before that. We spent several years developing our cacao sources in Central America, South America and Mexico before deciding to start making chocolate professionally. Our goal with Goodnow Farms is to make incredible craft chocolate while also sourcing our cacao beans ethically and sustainably.
Read moreYou have tasted some (or lots) of chocolate in your life. Perhaps you've come by The Chocolate Project for our tasting days, or have experienced single-origin chocolate. Maybe you've found a favourite origin or chocolate maker. But you have more questions: I know that I do. There is so much to explore and learn regarding chocolate, and you would like to delve deeper. Where do you start? We have compiled some great resources to start you on your quest for knowledge, at your leisure. These are a few of our favourite go-to resources for beginners and intermediates.
Read moreThe Ninth Annual Northwest Chocolate Festival took place in Seattle, WA on November 11-12 this year, and I was excited to attend for the second time. It has sure expanded from my first visit two years ago. It is the top show for artisan chocolate in North America, and one of the best in the world. My favourite aspect of this event is the large Education Program: each day there is a full schedule of workshops, classes, and seminars to attend. These range from speakers sharing stories from origins & farmers; tasting workshops to try fresh cocoa pod fruit, traditional drinking chocolate recipes, baking, and chocolate pairings such as wine & cheese; technical workshops on evaluating chocolate, roasting cacao, tempering, genetic diversity; supply-chain seminars; book-launches; and many more. The most difficult part is choosing which session to attend. And that's all in addition to the exhibitors on the main show floor and all of their information and tastings. Really, one weekend is not nearly enough to absorb it all!
Read moreOne of the most commonly cited differences between commercial chocolate and artisanal chocolate is that big commercial producers use beans from West Africa and craft chocolate makers do not, preferring beans from New World sources such as South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The implication here is that West African beans are of poor quality and suitable only for mass-produced industrial applications. It is a refrain that gets repeated time and again, but is it really true?
Read moreChocolate Trends: Here we'll take a look into the crystal ball and examine some trends on the horizon in the chocolate world.....expect all three of these to figure largely in 2017.
Read moreWe are back from our extended holiday and set up again in the Hudson Public Market. Plenty of news to report but perhaps the biggest concerns the Chocolate Project itself. We tried to push the boundaries last year in terms of product selection, classes, tastings and representing more bean-to-bar chocolatiers than ever before. Our goal was to see if Victoria was truly ready for a full-time artisanal chocolate retail experience. We are happy to report that 2015 was a huge success (thanks to you) and we have very big plans for 2016
Read more
