Press Release
Fête de la Cocoa
Celebrating the past and building our future with cocoa…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Cocoa Research Centre (CRU) of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, custodians of the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad is presently celebrating its 50th Anniversary as a research and development institution supporting cocoa nationally, regionally and internationally. CRU is celebrating this remarkable milestone in a memorable and tangible way by supporting the revival of the cocoa industry in Trinidad and Tobago through a series of inspiring events to highlight the wealth we possess and our achievements in terms of cocoa research, outreach and value addition.
The Spirit of Chocolate Festival held at the Hilton on 21st July 2012 and the launch of the Partnership in Conservation on 27th July 2012 comprised initial phases of this multi-faceted effort. The third event, ‘Fête de la Cocoa’ will serve to keep the anniversary commemoration momentum going, as well as to officially launch the Cocoa Research Centre to herald a new era of cocoa research, conservation and outreach at The UWI.
‘Fête de la Cocoa’ is scheduled for the 2 -3 November, 2012 at the JFK Auditorium situated within the premises of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.
The overall objective of the event is to raise the public profile of cocoa by highlighting the long history of cocoa in Trinidad and Tobago and its contribution to the world; the unique place that Trinidad and Tobago cocoa occupies, to outline the role that cocoa can play in the economic diversification efforts of this country and to garner support towards creating a new cocoa industry based on the pillars of sustainability and value creation.
This event will also feature:
- Cacao Dreams: Chocolate Haven An exhibition highlighting the cocoa story, the challenges and threats, the creative efforts of local entrepreneurs and researchers, what the future should look like and information on best practices and technologies on offer.
- The launch of a commemorative keep sake magazine on the future of the cocoa industry, and the launch of a first edition premium dark chocolate made from an international collection of cocoa varieties conserved by the Cocoa Research Centre.
- A chocolate food fest, featuring the best of the chocolate based cuisines and confectionaries; and a competition fostering innovations in incorporating cocoa into food, titled "Innovations in Chocolate Cuisine, a food and beverage challenge".
- Tours to the genebank, opportunities to learn chocolate making or learning to become a chocolate flavor ‘connoisseur’; children games and lots of other fun activities.
For more information on Fête de la Cocoa, please contact either Sophia Thompson, Annelle Holder-John, Antoinette Sankar or Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan at 662-8788 or via email at info@cocoacentre.com or cru@sta.uwi.edu or write to us on our Facebook page http://facebook.com/cocoacentre
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