Much of my focus over the last years managing the Tate Galleries Hot drinks offer in all of its locations has been on Coffee, Tea and Chocolate. The passionate, knowledgeable and incredibly experience Tate Eats team do things very different to many Museums and Galleries because they manage all Food and Beverage in-house with all profits being returned to the gallery.
This means they will age wines in their cellars, import and roast their own specialty coffee, offer very fine loose leaf teas from Jing Tea and exceptional Hot Chocolate courtesy of Islands Chocolate.
Whilst working in my role I was lucky enough to learn an incredible amount about each of the areas I managed and enjoyed sharing this information with the team. One of the things that struck me was how by buying high quality, traceable, artisan products in an intentional way we could be part of a more positive, sustainable supply chain because we were not pushing the cost of goods down, instead we were paying more to ensure a long term supply. Think about it, if you were not paid enough for your work, you would not continue, you would be forced to change what you do or find different work. This is the same for all producers, many having inherited farms from their ancestors and who wish to continue farming but are often forced to change what they grow to meet the next new trend in rich countries or leave their home and move to the city to find work which is very common for young people.
Which brings me back to Venezuela. I have extended family in Venezuela and I have visited twice for long periods of time and travelled around the country. It has the most incredible natural environment, it still feels off the beaten track and the people of Venezuela are some of the warmest, kind people I have ever met in my life. Venezuela as a nation has had a very difficult time economically but I do feel positive about its future. Tourism is a great opportunity to inject local spending into the economy. Venezuela was also once a large exporter of Coffee, especially to the United States and this offers a second great opportunity to increase GDP.
The final area which I am especially interested in is Cacao. Venezuela produces some of the finest in the world but during my research many Chocolate makers I have spoken to expressed frustration, they told me they wanted to purchase Venezuelan cacao but struggled to get hold of it. Coincidentally at that moment my father in law, who seems to know everyone in Venezuela and moves around with ease told me he had friends who were Cacao farmers and he wanted to help sell their Cacao to Chocolate Makers around the world.
Since moving to Mallorca I have decided to focus on connecting passionate chocolate makers with Venezuelan Cacao producers. It is my great hope that I can be a part of sharing Venezuela’s incredible Cacao with the world and in doing so ensure the producers are paid what they need to ensure a sustainable supply. We have come a long way and are now in a position where we can send samples, should you be interested please do get in touch and be a part of something positive.
