The Power of Chocolate at the NMAI

There’s no escaping chocolate around Valentine’s Day. It’s EVERYWHERE! Including around the National Mall. This weekend, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian is celebrating cacao, a crop that has been cultivated for three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. “The Power of Chocolate” (Feb. 12-13) at NMAI features of series of educational and family friendly events, including a history of chocolate in Mexico and a food demonstration and discussion led by Diana Xochitl Munn, botanist at the National Museum of Natural History, and Richard Hetzler, executive chef at Mitsitam Native Food Cafe. “Mitsitam” means “Let’s Eat!” in the Native language of the Delaware and Piscataway People and it’s pretty much the only Smithsonian cafeteria where you can eat a decent meal! Located in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Zagat-rated restaurant serves native American dishes from five different regions of the Americas: Northeast Woodlands and Great Lakes, North Pacific Coast and Columbia Plateau, Mesoamerica, Great Plains and South America, which was the focus of today’s chocolate-centric demonstration. 

First up, Chef Hetzler showed us to make an Achiote Roasted Leg of Pheasant with Celery Root Puree, House Smoked Bacon and Passion Fruit Chocolate Drizzle. I personally enjoyed learning about this dish because it featured white chocolate, which is pretty much the only kind of chocolate I can actually eat. Mainly because, as Chef Hetzler kept emphasizing, there’s absolutely no cocoa in it 😉 Chef Hetzler did a great job answering questions from the grown-ups in the audience as well as relating to the younger folks in the crowd, demonstrating how the celery root he used in his recipe (and which had magically been pureed already) fit within the more familiar sight of the green celery for example.