Colonial Williamsburg’s Chocolate Programs

Chocolate was an ingredient for many colonial and modern dishes. Colonial Williamsburg is exploring historic chocolate in a seasonal programs in the Historic Area highlighting the 18th-century methods for producing and consuming chocolate.

“The Secrets of the Chocolate Maker” program allows guests to learn how raw cocoa beans are processed into chocolate and its uses in 18th-century cooking. The program is presented by Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Foodways journeymen in the historic Governor’s Palace Kitchen, using reproduction period kitchen tools. The process of creating the colonial chocolate begins by roasting Venezuelan cocoa beans, shelling them and crushing them in a large mixing bowl. Using a heated grinding stone and an iron rolling pin, the beans are ground into a liquid and mixed with sugar and spices. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and hot chilies are added to the liquid—imparting bold, exotic flavors to the chocolate. Delving into the transition from cacao seeds to formed chocolate, guests discover every step of making the delicious treat from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays May 5 and June 2.

Chocolate was made primarily to be served as a hot beverage, the drink of choice to pair with breakfast. Chocolate, along with coffee and tea, was considered a “necessity” in the colonies and could be found everywhere in the 18th century. The first recorded mention of chocolate in Williamsburg dates to the first decade of the 18th century, when College of William and Mary President James Blair noted serving hot chocolate to visiting Burgesses.

In 2001, Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Foodways staff premiered a program called “Secrets of the Chocolate Maker” in the Governor’s Palace kitchen. It was the first regularly scheduled historic chocolate making program in North America using original recipes and equipment. Members of the Foodways staff are now internationally recognized authorities on historic chocolate in North America. Over the years, this program has been presented in magazines, the Food Network, colleges, museums and even the National Academy of Sciences.

Mars Incorporated and Colonial Williamsburg have partnered with the other museums to create the Mars American Heritage line of chocolate products available at Colonial Williamsburg’s Craft House, Tarpley’s Store, Greenhow Store, Raleigh Tavern Bakery and Williamsburg Revolutions in Colonial Williamsburg’s Visitor Center. American Heritage Chocolate has been designed and developed as closely as possible to 18th-century chocolates eaten and consumed as a drink for pleasure and used by the armies as rations. The American Heritage line includes an authentic chocolate drink mix, chocolate sticks and chocolate bars and is also sold at Historic Deerfield, Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Vernon, Monticello and Fortress Louisbourg. It meets 21st-century manufacturing standards.

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Edited by Patricia D. Sherman

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