Join local artisan and chocolate maker Jinji Fraser for a discussion about the Indigenous origins of chocolate. In conversation with Ellen Hoobler, William B. Ziff, Jr. Associate Curator of the Art of the Americas, Jinji discusses the trajectory of her career and how she continues to focus her practice on storytelling through chocolate and being responsive to the farmers who grow and harvest cacao beans.

The talk takes place in the Walters’ Graham Auditorium. The tasting and demonstration follows in the Walters Cafe. Products from Pure Chocolate Shop are available for purchase in the Walters Museum Store or via Jinji’s website.

This program is part of a series exploring themes from the Walters Art Museum’s exhibition Translations and Transitions / Traducciones y Transiciones: A Celebration of Mexican and Central American Independence (1821–2021), on view through November 7.

About the Speaker:

Jinji Fraser is an alumnus of Indiana University where she studied communication and culture, before returning to Baltimore to complete a certificate in Nutrition Counseling in 2005. After brief stints in both the non-profit and corporate sectors, Jinji and her father, Guy, started Pure Chocolate by Jinji in 2012. Since its inception, the goal has been to responsibly source cacao while creating deep pathways through ancestral reverence and the art of storytelling. Today, Pure Chocolate by Jinji operates out of Belvedere Square Market in Govans, and Jinji continues to live in Baltimore with her husband, Paul, and son, Stokely.

Pure Chocolate by Jinji was founded in 2012 by Jinji Fraser and her father, Guy. Since the beginning, the priority has been maintaining a high level of sensitivity to the farmers who grow and harvest cacao, and to the earth that yields the fruits. Along with local, seasonally selected ingredients, the chocolates also pay tribute to the ancient art of storytelling, creating rich flavor profiles that are both complex and memorable. In order to preserve the integrity of the chocolates, they are each handcrafted, and free from dairy, gluten, and all refined sugars. Today, you can find a full selection of Jinji chocolates at their retail shop at Belvedere Square Market, including pralines, barks, fudges, truffles, and many more novelty creations. Jinji chocolates are also available in limited supply at area restaurants, grocers, and cafes.

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Add to Calendar 20210930 America/New_York 600 North Charles Street Baltimore MD 21201 Decolonizing Chocolate with Jinji Fraser