ExplO+re Class: Vegan Chocolate Making Class

Learn to make delicious chocolate and chocolatey treats from Federico Fridman, the founder of Cacao Lab. This tasty experience is for anyone ready to discover the magic of the world’s most beloved treat. Learn how to make chocolate bars and bonbons. No cooking experience required.

Brand Bio:
Cacao Laboratory is a New York-based social good company that honors the tradition and integrity of ceremonial grade cacao. Through proprietary blends, cacao ceremonies and educational offerings, Cacao Laboratory aims to restructure the industry by changing the way we see cacao.

Cacao Laboratory, Cacao Lab for short, is the co-creation of Argentine siblings Federico and Florencia Fridman. The pair hail from Bariloche, a small Patagonian town known for its delicious artisanal chocolate. In 2016, Florencia journeyed to Guatemala, and after a transformational experience, become a cacao devotee. She quickly shared her passion with Federico in New York, and the pair began their journey.

With Florencia’s background in health and wellness and Federico’s history in finance and entrepreneurship, the two set to work, creating a brand designed to be a new business model- a place to experiment with new ways of doing business. A true laboratory. This model, is based in the Fridmans’ ideas of shared success and the brand pillars of respect, equity, and sustainability. Florencia embodies this through cultural connection and community outreach. Federico exemplifies this by maintaining personal relationships with the farmers and producers, and cultivating Cacao Lab’s social impact enterprise. Together the pair have built a global brand that honors our food systems, cultural differences, and interconnection.

Personal Bio:
Federico Fridman is a social-impact entrepreneur and self-taught chocolate maker dedicated to restructuring our food systems. He believes that connections to who, where and how our food is grown can have a positive ecological and financial impact on the world at large. Federico graduated from Ramapo College in 2008 with a degree in Business and Communications. With a focus on bringing wellness to the Hispanic community, Federico built Ser Saludable, a free magazine dedicated to providing healthy lifestyle alternatives to the mainstream Spanish-speaking populations in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. In 2009 he developed Just Bee Productions, a brand building and marketing agency. He has traveled to Central and South America and to Europe; creating community, and learning about the nuances of our global food systems. He is the co-Founder of Cacao Laboratory, a Ceremonial Cacao company committed to redefining our relationship with the growers of our food in order to affect positive change.

https://www.cacaolaboratory.com