Chocolate fuels this journey into history

LA Plaza Cocina explores the food in ancient and present-day Latin America

The history of one of the world's most popular treats is being explored in a new exhibition at LA Plaza Cocina in downtown Los Angeles.

Those with a sweet tooth can even take a few cooking classes featuring chocolate as the main ingredient.

Looking back about 2,000 years, “The Legacy of Cacao” follows the evolution of chocolate from the earliest recorded reference by the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization to the present day.

The exhibition is open through April.

“As a museum that celebrates Mexican gastronomy, we really want to showcase and celebrate the indigenous ingredients of Mexico, like the cacao,” said Ximena Martin, director of public programs and culinary arts at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which includes LA Plaza Cocina, a museum dedicated to Mexican food.

The exhibition mostly comprises photographs from the book “Beverages of Oaxaca,” by food photographer Shava Cueva, which documents the preparation process of traditional beverages in the Mexican state, including cacao.

It's augmented by artifacts that include many precolonial objects used to prepare and transform cacao into chocolate in what is now Latin America.

The photographs show Oaxacan women doing things such as peeling roasted cacao beans and grinding them with stone tools called metates.

There are also images of cacao trees avnd their pods and beans.

Meanwhile, other objects on display include a cup carved with indigenous images that was used to drink chocolate, a metate, a clay oven and other cups and bowls from Oaxaca used to make and consume chocolate.

The exhibition also has several interactive elements.

“We have a metate in the gallery that folks can use to get on their knees to grind cacao beans and realize how long it really takes and how much work it is,” Martin said.

Since chocolate must be tasted to be truly appreciated, the exhibition features several programs where people can prepare their own treats, including a Jan. 21 class on how to make polvoron chocolate cookies and a Jan. 26 class on red mole and spicy chocolate truffles.

And just in time for Valentine's Day, a Feb. 11 class will demonstrate how to make and pack a variety of chocolate treats.