A funny thing happened on the way to Finmac.

Finmac is surrounded by banana fields; fields that are owned by a large well known corporation here in the US. Two problems with banana and pineapple fields, one is the deforestation of the jungle and the other is  heavy use of pesticides.  The banana fields surrounding Finmac are not organic and many different types of chemicals are used to prevent a myriad of issues that bananas are prone towards.  The bananas are covered, while on the tree, with large blue bags that are lined with a pesticide - this pesticide deteriorates quickly once the bag is removed - as well as crop dusting; this is done with special planes that spray the fields.  As we drove down a long narrow dirt road to our destination, a plane was dusting the banana fields with pesticide(s) while at the same time, many people and animals were working in the fields or walking along the road. The crop duster was releasing pesticide while flying directly over them which included the bus we were traveling in; you could see the droplets on the windows and sides of the bus.  We were shocked.  When we arrived at the Finmac, we were told that this was normal practice and, while the corporation verbally does not want them to do this, it is done and there is no reprisal from the corporation.

I wondered how a cacao farm that is certified organic can be surrounded by this indiscriminate dusting and still be certified.  Hugh, Finmac's owner, had a brilliant solution that took into account the beauty of the jungle; plant trees that will grow very tall, very quickly around his entire farm.  This forced the dust croppers to pull up very sharply when they reached the edge of Finmac's property.  This sharp pulling up of the dust cropper meant the pilot had to stop dusting and, combined with a buffer of land that allows for pesticide drift, the remaining cacao trees are not affected by this spraying. While this saves Finmac's organic certification, I wonder what the long term affects this has on people and animals.  I have been unable to eat a banana, and it has been nearly three months since my trip in Costa Rica. 

This shows the deforestation of the forest to plant pineapple plants. I am not convinced that this is necessary as the cacao and coffee farms are proving. 

The chocolate journey as a cook...

I am trained as a cook, in the french style to be exact.  My personal cooking style is one of perseverance, in other words,  I choose a cuisine and learn it.  I read, cook, read and cook and ask lots questions of other friends who know that cuisine or even ask the chef at a restaurant that may be of help.  Only once have I had to throw out the results and order pizza.
When I began learning how to temper chocolate, it was with an online class.  This class is designed by Pam Williams of Ecole Chocolat in Canada and, because it was online, allowed me to learn the tempering and candy making process while being a full time mom to three children and allowing my husband to travel for business as needed.  As a trained cook, I know the difference between good and great is practice.  Although, to be honest, I had some experience in tempering and making chocolate bon bons in my professional life in restaurant and catering, it was many, many years ago and my memory of it was scant.  Through the online class, I pushed myself to hand temper over and over again, and after the twenty-fifth time over a one week period, felt that I consistently produced a near perfect temper.

Master Chocolate program with Ecole Chocolat.

Next week I fly to Costa Rica to learn first hand about the growing, harvesting and fermenting of the cocoa bean.  The class is led by Steve De Vries, a well known chocolate maker, and Julio Fernadez, a local Costa Rican maker.  The class will be take place near San Jose, Costa Rica and in a five day span, we will walk through a few cocao farms, nestled in the jungles where cocao trees naturally grow.  
On a personal note, purchasing beans that are organic and not produced by slave labor is important, not only to me, but to many of  my customers as well.
Hopefully, I will be able to upload photos and write short posts during my class.