Cacao in the City

Trace cacao’s journey from its Latin American origins to the chocolate we know today through stories

From Neilson’s and Willards to Laura Secord, chocolate has a long history in Canada—but every cocoa bean used to make it begins its journey somewhere else. Where does cacao come from, and what stories travel with it before it becomes the chocolate we enjoy in Toronto?

Cacao in the City traces cacao’s global-to-local journey, exploring its Latin American heritage, Indigenous knowledge systems, colonial trade, biodiversity, and the role of local producers in today’s craft chocolate movement.

Join educator and researcher Dr. Juan Marcelo Gómez (NAHUA Canada), author of Decoding Cacao: From Ancient Traditions to Modern Craft Chocolate, for an evening of conversation, storytelling, and tasting. Along the way, sample a curated selection of Costa Rican craft chocolate while learning how cacao’s origins, fermentation, and production shape the flavours in every bar.