Chocolate and Foraging Classes
with Ethnobotanist Dr. Nat Bletter
I'm back in Hawaii for a while and I'm teaching a class while I'm here on chocolate making at Lyon Arboretum in October, date TBA. Meanwhile, here are some classes I taught in the past and useful maps of fruits to be foraged around the US, most of the data for which can be found on Neighborhood Fruit
Slow U: Urban Foraging in Central Park
June 14th, 2009
Nat Bletter from the University of Hawaii, where he is researching chocolate and South East Asian food plants, is leading a special late spring foraging expedition in Central Park. Come along and taste delicious mulberry, juneberry, sassafras, mustard greens, lamb’s quarter, epazote, mugwort, burdock, and more. Bring bags (for collecting food), water, a hat, sunscreen, plastic containers, and a fork (for tasting Central Park Salad). This is as local as it gets! Kids are welcome. The expedition, rain or shine, starts promptly at 1:00 PM at the corner of 79th St. and 5th Ave (park side), Manhattan.
When: Sunday, June 14, 1:00 pm (sharp!) – 3:00 pm (approximately) RAIN or SHINE!
Where: Meet at the Corner of 79th St. and Fifth Ave. (Park Side), Manhattan
Tickets: Tickets are available ONLY at Brown Paper Tickets
When you buy your tickets, make sure you provide your contact information.
Slow Food Members – $20
Non-members – $30
Kids Free
Here are three maps I have made of the
edible wild plants of US cities. You can view larger
maps by clicking the link below each map.
New York City
Learn about the plants around you, some local, some tropical, but always delicious!
Chocolate history, tasting and making class
June 27th
Would you like to learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean? You can learn all of these in a few hours this weekend with chocolate entrepreneur Zeke Mandel and ethnobotanist Nat Bletter, who has studied and made chocolate for over 5 years and has just sold out of over 300 hand made bars in the last few months. The kinds of chocolate bars whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty is increasing exponentially, so we will learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest.
In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you'll go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.
Time: Saturday, June 27th, 1-4 PM
Location: Astor Place, location given with registration
Registration: $35, please PayPal to 
to register, only 20 spots available so register quickly! Please include your phone number for last minute updates
You're welcome to post this on any lists.
Dr. Nat Bletter has ten years of experience in botany..documenting exotic fruits and vegetables, gathering food in the wild, studying herbal, and traditional medicines, all done while exploring Central and South America, Asia, and Africa. He is cofounding an artisanal chocolate company, Flor de Chocolate. Their chocolate will feature traditional, high-antioxidant, ingredients. During August, he will co-lead a culinary and medicinal plant and music tour of Bali, where, since 1994, he has spent many months exploring local foods, traditional medicines, landscape, and music. For more information, visit Nada Brahma Foundation.
If you want to see a preview of my teaching, please check these videos and interviews out:
Foraging in the Lower East Side
Interview on KCRW's Good food radio show about chocolate making, 44 minutes into the show, if you want to learn more about the process.
Father’s Day Special: Is That Chocolate in My Beer?
June 21st, 2009
Treat your dad, your buddy or your partner to an afternoon of chocolate and beer. You will learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Learn all of this with ethnobotanist Nat Bletter, who has studied and made chocolate for over 5 years and regularly sells out of every bar he makes.
In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you’ll go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.
Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s 43, fine beer aficionado and originator of the Good Beer Seal of Approval will pair Nat’s homemade chocolate with a selection of artisanal beers.
Clay Gordon of The Chocolate Life and Pure Origin cofounder will assist.
Proceeds will go towards Slow Food NYC’s Harvest Time in Schools Program
Where: Jimmy’s No. 43 – 43 7th street, Manhattan
When: Sunday, June 21st – 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Tickets: Tickets are available ONLY at Brown Paper Tickets
$30 – Slow Food Members
$35 – Non members
San Francisco Bay Area
Honolulu, Hawaii
