Food Festival Schools Program

Every year, the York Food & Drink Festival brings the city to life with producers, chefs, tastings, and events that celebrate the very best of what this region grows, makes, and cooks. But one of the parts of the festival we're most proud to be involved in doesn't happen on the main stage — it happens in classrooms and school halls across the city.

Bringing Chocolate Education into Schools

The Food Festival Schools Program is an initiative that connects York's food producers directly with local schoolchildren, giving young people the chance to learn where their food comes from, how it's made, and why it matters. For us at York Cocoa Works, it's one of the most meaningful things we do all year.

We visit schools across the region to run hands-on chocolate education sessions — not just tasting sessions, but proper learning experiences that cover the full journey of cacao: from the tropical farms where it's grown, through the fermentation and drying process, all the way to the roasting, grinding, and tempering that happens here in our workshop in York.

What the Sessions Cover

Our school sessions are designed to be engaging, age-appropriate, and genuinely educational. Depending on the year group, sessions typically include:

• The geography of cacao — where in the world cacao grows, why it only thrives in the tropics, and what the farming communities that grow it are like.
• The science of chocolate — how fermentation, roasting, and conching transform a bitter bean into the chocolate we know and love.
• Ethical sourcing and fair trade — why it matters who grows our food and how they're treated, and what we can do as consumers to make better choices.
• Hands-on making — children get to handle cacao beans, smell roasted nibs, and in some sessions, make their own simple chocolate creation to take home.

Why This Matters to Us

York has a long and proud chocolate heritage. The city's connection to chocolate — through the Rowntrees, the Terrys, and now a new generation of craft makers — is part of what makes this place special. We believe that heritage is worth passing on, and that the best way to do that is to put cacao beans in the hands of children and let them discover the magic for themselves.

Food education is also increasingly important in a world where many young people are disconnected from where their food comes from. Chocolate is a brilliant entry point — it's something children already love, and it opens the door to conversations about farming, geography, science, ethics, and culture.

Get Involved

If you're a teacher or school coordinator in the York area and would like to find out more about our schools program — whether as part of the Food Festival or at another time of year — we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch via our website and we'll tell you more about what we offer and how to book.

And if you're visiting the York Food & Drink Festival this September, look out for us — we'll be there, as always, sharing our passion for craft chocolate with anyone who'll listen.