Mission
Connect you to ethical bean-to-bar chocolate makers from around the world via my free bean-to-bar map app.
Help you learn about craft chocolate making, tasting, history, science, and more via my free Learning Center.
Offer unique and incredibly satisfying experiences with chocolate via my online shop and virtual events.
Photo of a cacao tree with cacao flowers and cherelles (immature cocoa pods). Image by Bean to Bar World.
Values
+ Celebrate and showcase the craft and skill of chocolate making
In the bean-to-bar sector, skill and craftsmanship are often overshadowed by other aspects such as packaging, awards and certificates, social issues, and nutrition. Although most of these are important to some degree, it is the craftsmanship that I am most concerned with. If we don't celebrate and encourage chocolate craftsmanship and skill, the bean-to-bar realm will end up no different than the bulk commercial chocolate industry such as Lindt, Cadbury, Hershey, and Callebaut to name a few.
+ Promote small bean-to-bar business and entrepreneurs
The term "bean-to-bar" goes beyond the literal definition of making chocolate from the bean. It also encompasses quality and purity of ingredients, ethical and transparent cacao sourcing, and for me, entrepreneurship. This is the age of small-scale chocolate making, and as many know, running a private food business (especially one focused on quality) is extremely difficult. I make it a priority to encourage such businesses. This is the reason why I created the very first bean-to-bar map, now an app!
+ Educating over Marketing
Marking is important, no doubt. You can say education itself is a form of marketing. Since I began my journey into the fine chocolate sector, much of the chocolate education I encounter even to this day is based on redundant watered-down, unreferenced, and sometimes misconstrued information for the sake of "good marketing". I don't have a background in business or marketing, and although those are important, certain types of marketing approaches can sometimes miss the essence of what bean-to-bar really stands for. Some poor marketing can even cheapen the craft, and sometimes overembelish to the point that things become a bit untrue. There are many who market the bean-to-bar world very well, but my area of expertise is teaching, and this is how I prefer to "market" this industry.
I entered the realm of chocolate with a curiosity for science and a desire to be in the kitchen. Combining both science and practical aspects of chocolate making is my approach. To source and share primary research and well-referenced information and offer my experience from working first-hand with chocolate. To be as unbiased as possible about the information and not only highlight the positive aspects. It’s not a popular avenue to take in the realm of chocolate, but the only road I wish to travel.
+ Encouraging chocolate thinkers, not chocolate consumers
I want to encourage all of you not to simply blindly accept what I or others in the chocolate industry say. I want you to feel confident enough to ask questions and challenge the ideas which exist in the chocolate realm. One of my unique approaches is that I do not encourage people to use the awards on bars (or foods in general) as a guide of which to purchase. I rather you be informed on what to look for, what to taste for, and rely on what your own senses are telling you about the chocolate. To make decisions based on what you know and experience, not simply on what you are told or persuaded to think.
Any food award is simply an opinion based on a very small group of people, which may or may not be well informed. Many people nowadays purchase food based on awards or what is promoted in the industry itself, which can be very biased. A better approach I believe is to inform people on the food they consume, and allow them to make judgement calls based on those informed decisions. This is also why I created the bean-to-bar app, so that you can find and support your local makers (whether they have awards or not).
+ Making the best information on chocolate accessible to all
I learned while in University that there is a wealth of incredible information that is sadly not accessible to most people. It is often locked behind over-priced paywalls, benefiting not the authors, and making it inaccessible sometimes to those who need it the most. This doesn't encourage a world of informed decisions and knowledgeable population, but caters only to a privileged few.
Sadly, even in the bean-to-bar industry which prides itself on educating the world about chocolate making, much of the best information again is locked away behind overpriced certificate programs and courses which often only cater to a certain demographic.
My goal at Bean To Bar World has always been to increase the public's general knowledge of fine chocolate to a point where they can make informed and confident decisions. Decisions based on facts and knowledge, not marketing and persuasion. This goal will not be reached by making quality chocolate information difficult to access. This is why I work to make this information either free or at a fair price in my educational tastings and classes. If we want the world to be better informed, we have to make that information accessible to all.
+ Foster a chocolate culture which is inviting and inclusive to all
In any fine food realm there is a degree of pretentious thinking and an in-group out-group divide. Even though many in the bean-to-bar realm talk about transparency and helping others, the actions of some speak otherwise. There is also a lot of soapbox style preaching (speaking down to the public) where one is to feel guilted into supporting the craft chocolate industry. This mentality existed when I began and continues to exist today. I reject this method of reaching others as I find it turns more off, and those who are convinced, are convinced not of their own accord.
I believe that quality ingredients and quality craftsmanship can be respected and honored without having to be pompous and condescending about it (AKA a snob). This is why when people enter my shop, my classes, my virtual events, I make it clear that I am here to present ideas and information, and that it is up to them to draw their own conclusions. I wish for everyone to understand their opinions and ideas of the chocolate and information I present is of value, and that they have a choice of what to support instead of feeling guilted into it.
The basis of the bean-to-bar industry truly is incredible, and for those who want a chance to learn and taste what it is about, I'm here to guide you through it.
“I encourage everyone to find their place in the world of bean-to-bar, be it a voyeur, beginner, connoisseur, taster, chocolate maker, cacao grower, distributor, retailer, educator, researcher, or all around bean-to-lover. There is a place here for you!”
Oh Deer! A 100% chocolate bust of a deer I created when working as a chocolatier in Vancouver. No modeling chocolate here - only hand carved, painted, and piped tempered dark chocolate.
Let us be Genuine
The website was created solely for promoting the bean-to-bar chocolate movement.
Any promotion of businesses you see here is free, by my choice alone, and for the sake of promoting bean-to-bar entrepreneurs. I do not take kickbacks to promote or advertise any businesses or products here.
My approach to everything is honest and straightforward.
Support The Free Resources
Both the Bean To Bar World Map App & Learning Center are 100% FREE. I am an independent entrepreneur and receive absolutely no funding from any third party. I keep pricing on products and virtual events fair as this is an education-first business.
If you find these resources helpful and wish to contribute to help them grow, please do so here. I appreciate your generosity!
About Geoseph Domenichiello
CHOCOLATE SOMMELIER · CHOCOLATIER · BEAN TO BAR MAKER · INSTRUCTOR
Educating since 2008
Check out my media page to see, watch, or listen to some media coverage of my work.
People constantly want to know I ended up here. Sometimes I wonder that myself. If you can believe it, I didn’t even like chocolate very much growing up. Not dark anyway, yet here I am teaching people to appreciate dark chocolate. I would say what brought me here was simply following my passions: nature, art, and food. My desire to understand the world around me, create with my hands, and share all of this is how I ended up doing what I do today. For me, working with chocolate touches on all three of these passions.
My studies
I graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science where I focused on biology, animal sciences, and dabbled in fine arts as well. I worked at a reptile zoo and in a lab where I studied guppy behaviour. However, my passion for food then drew me towards George Brown College, where I honed in on my skills in their Pastry Arts Program. It was there where I came across a job posting for a chocolate sommelier assistant, and after taking on the position in 2008, my eyes were open to a new dimension of chocolate I didn’t know existed.
Developing my curriculum
Since there were no chocolate sommelier courses or chocolate schools at the time, I had to learn everything myself. I read every text book and research article concerning chocolate and cacao science and history I could find. In the process, I developed my own unique chocolate tasting curriculum based on all the reading and research I had done over the years. This is when I began creating content on my websites in order to share this information with the public. I knew that most people did not (and still do not) quite understand the realm of bean-to-bar chocolate. Therefore, I took it upon myself to better educate the public and promote the world of craft bean-to-bar chocolate through my website and in-person tastings.
Chocolatier to chocolate maker
In 2009 I moved to Vancouver and worked as a chocolatier for many years developing recipes, designing new creations, and training others (Chocolate Arts, Thomas Haas, Gem Chocolate, Mon Paris Patisserie). In 2016 I had a short stint at a bean-to-bar maker (Wellington Chocolate Factory) in New Zealand hosting events and tasting tours. In 2017 I returned to Canada where I began focusing even more on public chocolate tastings, classes, selling bars and products at markets, and even started a Vancouver chocolate meetup.
This is also when I developed the first bean-to-bar map in order to help the public better locate the incredible chocolate of the makers I was using in my tastings. It was also around this time when I began making my own chocolate from bean-to-bar and eventually hosted many bean-to-bar master classes in the Vancouver area as a way for the public to understand it better, and inspire many to start making their own (which many did!). I also developed my bean-to-bar compass, a unique tasting tool that helps people sharpen their tasting abilities and gets you to think a bit deeper about the chocolate you enjoy. In 2020 the bean-to-bar map became an app, and I also went virtual with my tastings, lessons, and the online shop.
Promoting the world of bean-to-bar
In 2022 I opened my first in-person shop and tasting room in Salmon Arm, BC while also hosting bean-t0-bar and chocolate kitchen workshops. In 2024 I moved back to the GTA after being away for about 15 years. Today I continue to educate through tastings and classes (both in-person and virtually), growing my curated collection of bars and products, developing my own chocolate line, growing my learning center, and always seeking out ways to promote the world of bean to bar chocolate. I have also rebooted my fun chocolate meetups in Mississauga! Check out my other website geoseph.com for all in-person events and shopping.
The Original Bean To Bar Map App
While hosting my tastings, people would often ask where they can locate the makers of the incredible chocolate they tasted. If they lived in Vancouver, I could easily point to the few local ones which existed at the time. However, many people were from out of town. And what if people were to travel to places abroad and wished to discover makers there? It was a real challenge for consumers to find the makers, and for makers to be found!
I looked online to see if any bean-to-bar map existed that I could share, but unfortunately it did not. So I took on what felt like an impossible undertaking, and in 2017 began creating the very first map dedicated to bean-to-bar chocolate makers. I added a category for retailers who focus on selling products by these makers as well. I soon realized that this map could also be used within the industry itself as a way to connect makers to cacao distributors, growers, equipment manufactures, and researchers, and vice-versa, so I added these categories as well. Eventually this map became an app with the help of a bean-to-bar friend, and here we are! An incredible tool that is free for everyone to use, share, and connect to.
It is important for me to note that unfortunately this map has been commandeered by an organization within the bean-to-bar industry without any significant changes. To this date they have never offered any acknowledgement to it’s original creator. I reluctantly point this out to make it clear that if you do come across the duplicate map, know that this map and app, the concept and categories, all originated here.
The original map was a desktop version, which you can still access here.
If you enjoy and appreciate this tool either as a consumer or as someone working in the bean-to-bar sector, please share it with as many people as you can. The app is free to use, and free to be hosted on. You can download some free pdf marketing literature and hand leave it or post it at local public venues (libraries, communal poster boards, cafes). Or if you have any idea of how I can help you get the word out, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact me. And should you feel the desire, you’re welcome to donate to help with my time and effort in growing and updating the app. Your generosity is always appreciated. A passion project from my heart, to your fingertips, for the sake of the craft of bean-to-bar chocolate making.