As I drove up to a homey looking red single story building just off the main road in Sausalito California, I wasn’t sure I was even in the right place.  The units reminded me of l0 room motels in the 70’s with the line of doors and windows and only one story.   When I entered, I was struck by the size of the interior space and how warm it was inside.  It was the day for Dragonfly Cakes to be using the facility for production.  Stephanie Marcon shares the space with a fellow small business, alternating days between them.  Stephanie came to greet me and take me on a tour of the operation.   She pointed out the steel frames custom made to form the ganache for cutting, the roaster where they roast their own nuts and their hotbox where the tempered chocolate is kept.

We rounded the corner into the second room which was added after a year, doubling the size of the space.  Dragonfly Cakes makes delightful petit fours, and the same enrobing machine is used to enrobe them with icing as Stephanie uses to enrobe her chocolates.  The hardest thing about sharing is getting the machine clean.  Attached to the enrober is a home-made cooling tunnel, using cardboard for the tunnel and a free-standing air conditioning unit connected to the tunnel with what looks like a dryer hose.  Wonderfully creative and it works well.  The chocolates come out without any bloom.   Stephanie excitedly mentioned that they she is getting a new enrober with a professional cooling tunnel.

Next stop was the cool room where all work in process chocolates and finished goods are stored.   A baker’s rack stands in the corner loaded with centers waiting to be enrobed.  The process for Coco-luxe is to make the centers one day, cut the next, freeze them  for at least a couple days, thaw, cut and enrobe.   Individual acetate squares with custom made designs are dropped onto each chocolaste as it comes out of the cooling tunnel.  At that point they sit for at least an hour – the longer they sit, the more shine the finished product will have.  The original designs of the banana split, gingerbread man and the malt were created by Stephanie.  Now the pictures are created for Coco-luxe by a designer who works with Stephanie to bring her vision to life. 

In the beginning Coco-luxe offered only truffles, but they found lots of people like just a solid bar.  In answer Stephanie created the Happy Trails (trail mix of goji berries and pumpkin seeds), Monkey’in Around (coconut and banana chips), and Good Fortune (dark with candied ginger and homemade fortune cookies).  Stephanie loves nuts so the nuts were the easy next addition. Current offerings include chocolate coated roasted peanuts with cayenne and chocolate covered almonds with cinnamon.  Everything is done in small batches here.  For now everything is hand wrapped.   Stephanie toys with the idea of when it makes sense to automate the wrapping, but she would prefer to keep everything hand wrapped until they can’t keep up. 

After our walk we sat down to talk about the path that led Stephanie to this point.  She loved design and creating an idea – “something you can eat that also looks good”.  Stephanie worked in the tech industry, traveling through Europe and living in France for a period.  During her time in France, she became enchanted with the chocolatiers there.  After earning her MBA and 10 years working in the corporate area, she decided to go into food business.  She graduated from the pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America.  During school she learned that things like making bread were not for her, but wine classes were enjoyable, and her husband actually owns a winery now.  Wine tasting helped train her palette, which crosses over into chocolate tasting as well.  Stephanie commented that In school we are not trained to identify tastes or smells, so it is something we have to work at to learn.  After graduating, she made a few wedding cakes but that still wasn’t what she wanted to be doing.  She had enjoyed working with chocolate in school and decided to give it a try. 

Stephanie decided she wanted to work for Michael Recchuitti, a successful Chocolatier based in San Francisco.  She went to him, told him she wanted to start a chocolate business and wanted to learn how it works.  With a genuine smile, she remarked that he has best Karma ever and is just a really nice guy.  He has given her guidance along the way, and just asked that she not steal the recipes.  His operation is well run,  and it was good to learn things like how to scale up for holidays and all the things about running this type of business.  Michael Recchuitti apprenticed with MarieBelle (renowned chocolatier in New York) and Stephanie hopes to someday do the same for someone else. 

Testing recipes at home was the next step.  At that point there weren’t any incubator kitchens like there are now.    She liked the idea of creating chocolates that have a picture of what’s inside.  She spent 5 months in her home testing recipes. In coming up with the flavors, she knew she wanted something that was made with high quality chocolate but without the more exotic flavors. One day it hit her – do something very Americana like things we grew up with.  Coco-luxe is like Coco Channel, like Deluxe – the heyday of American culture.  With that idea in mind, she created gourmet versions of classic flavors – Andes mints, German chocolate cake and Reese’s peanut butter cups.  Her Afternoon Pick Me Up box is sort of an tribute to the 3 pm coffee or tea pick me up so many of us enjoy.  The newest item is canned cocoa, made from pure cocoa powder with added fresh ground chocolate.   With this product, she is going for a texture that is creamy and rich…wanting it to take you back to your past, but better.  Like cocoa from your Grandma’s house, on steroids.  New ideas in development include a toffee or caramel – but very Americana.   It is sort of a game to keep the flavor assortment fresh and changing, but at the same time in keeping with the theme of the company.   

When designing flavors, no extra sugar is added, and she keeps it simple, using fresh local cream and pure ingredients.  White chocolate is not her favorite, and she had a hard time finding one that was good - not too sweet or waxy.  The coverture she uses varies - mostly El Rey, some Guittard and some Callebaut.  Stephanie is careful to ensure that the chocolate base doesn’t add to or change the flavor of the truffle with its own undertones.   She likens it to making a good sangria – if you want headache, use cheap wine, but if use a good red wine and fresh fruits, it will be tasty.  In designing the look for Coco-luxe, she knew she wanted stripes and girly feel – that and the font are all she gave to the designer in the beginning.  The font is an homage to Piggly Wiggly,  which she sees as quintessential Americana.

Bi Rite market was first place to carry her product.  She lives a block away and walked over one day, handed them a box of her truffles and told them she had worked for Michael Recchuitti.  Coco-luxe didn’t sell online at first, instead providing descriptions of the product only. Last year they focused on getting the website up and running.  The current version of the site is the third iteration, including a new offering - gift cards.  This year Stephanie wants to focus on building up clientele, but she doesn’t want to be everywhere – she wants to stay exclusive.  When production gets too big, you lose some control of quality.  She feels a website has to tell your story –it’s an electronic representation of what you’re about.  As a part of her growth plans, she wants to have a store at some point as well.  Stephanie believes it’s the next logical step because it allows people to experience who you are.   Sampling the product really helps sell it, and she will also be able to test new recipes before rolling them out.

Currently working at Coco-luxe is one production lead and one packer/wrapper, working 3-4 days a week in production. Last year Coco-luxe shipped approximately 30,000 boxes of chocolates.  Sales are mostly via high-end neighborhood markets, where you might also buy gifts.  You can also find Coco-luxe in Sax Fifth Ave and on their website. Stephanie feels her product is very gifty and wants to be in places with other gift type items.   Finding the right location is key.  Recchuitti struggled for a long time doing farmers markets etc, but locating in the Ferry Bldg has really been a huge jump in his success.  The chocolates are designed to be something everyone will like – not Bay Area specific, and not just for those who eat Ethiopian food and want a thyme- patchouli chocolate for dessert.  She doesn’t want to be chocolate snob – she just wants to be good.

The hardest part for now is juggling all the different hats to run the business.  Balancing everything and not getting burned out is the key. Having production and administrative help makes things much more manageable.  Working alone for the first year, she was operating the enrobing machine by herself.  She would feed in 20 centers, run to the end of the cooling tunnel to decorate, transfer the finished chocolates and then run back and feed 20 more into the enrober! She recalls it was much like the famous I Love Lucy episode at the bonbon factory. Though not yet where she wants to be, she feels really validated that people “get ” what she is trying to do.  The definition of success for Stephanie will be having her own shop and being nationally recognized.  When having a bad day, asks herself what she wants to do with her life – and after thinking for a while, she realizes it would be exactly this.

Tucked away in a tree laden industrial park, sits the factory and main office of Chuao Chocolatier.  Started in 2002 by two brothers, Michael and Richard Antonorsi, this San Diego favorite has grown from a 1200 sq ft space that was both factory and storefront to five elegant stores in Southern California and a sixth recently opened in Miami.  I have been fortunate to participate in the first two of four chocolate making courses offered by Michael at their Carlsbad headquarters.  His love for the subject matter is evident from the first moments of the two hour class, which is filled with anecdotes and chocolate wisdom, and finished with a wine and chocolate pairing.  I met with Michael before my participation in the Level II course.  We walked back to a small office crowded with three desks opening directly on to the production floor.  I asked if his brother Richard also worked at this location, and Michael pointed to the cluttered desk behind me.

Having run several businesses together, Michael is the Chocolatier of Chuao (pronounced chew-WOW), while Richard handles the business and marketing side.  Michael has always loved cooking, and joked about cooking his way through his schooling in biomedical engineering at UCSD.  Being from Venezuela, cooking would not have met with his family’s view of success, so he returned to Venezuela to complete his MBA.  From there he and his brother Richard built a successful computer networking and communications business.  After 14 years, Michael decided he never wanted to work for money again.

At 38 years old, Michael moved his wife and two children to France where he was to fulfill his dream of attending the finest cooking school in France.  The chosen institution is actually an extremely challenging professional high school filled with 16-18 year old students in training.  Michael graduated with his CAP de cuisinier and went to work in a 2 star restaurant in France.  He found the environment very chaotic and stressful and soon decided it was time to move to the next step.  Having taken some specialized classes in chocolate and pastry, Michael was attracted to chocolate partly because it can be a 9 to 5 job since chocolate does have a shelf life, though short, unlike pastry or restaurant fare.

Together with his brother, they analyzed the best location in the US for a chocolate business.  They decided to return to their college town of San Diego because they had enjoyed the area so much as students, and there was no artisan chocolate in the area.  They further decided to differentiate themselves by using only Venezuelan chocolate, renown for its superior quality.  In 2002 they opened their first location, a 1200 sq ft space that served as both the production facility with 3 chocolate tables, 1 chocolate wheel (pictured), a proofing cabinet and an enrobing machine.  During the first class I attended at Chuao, Michael made use of a rather well used Cuisinart machine which he mentioned had been with them from the beginning.  I was sad to learn that 4 months later, when I took the second class, it had finally stopped working.  During class, Michael struggled with the unfamiliar replacement, with hot cream spewing out some opening at one point.

After little more than a year, Chuao was ready to open its first pure retail location.  It was a big commitment with a 10 year lease, but the loyalty and response from the San Diego patrons had been very encouraging.  In 2007 they are preparing for the next big growth spurt, which will include locations in Northern California, Chicago, Seattle and New York.  All locations will be stocked with chocolates made in the Carlsbad facility.

Creating is at the heart of Michael’s drive, as evidenced by the now more than 75 different recipes in Chuao’s arsenal of “Dare to be Different” chocolate flavors.  Chuao’s tag line of “Unusual, Unexpected and Delicious” is at the heart of all their creations.  Michael wants his chocolates to impart good sensations with a clear message, so that you know what is going on in your taste buds.   He feels chocolate can be a gratifying experience as it is an instant pleasure with a small commitment (as compared to sitting down for a meal in a restaurant for instance).  Each month a new flavor is created, and if it is popular, it becomes one of the regulars, included in the 30 or so rotating selections offered at the retail locations.

Chuao uses single origin El Rey chocolate, exclusively grown in Venezuela.  They pair this with spices, fruits and nuts to create among other things, bars, Chocopods, which are cacao shaped pods filled with such things as strawberry balsamic caramel, and bonbons of striking flavors.  Their special collections include a purple line, Caramelos, which is exclusively caramels; the Dead Sea Scrolls which is a collection of three chocolates (Qumran, Song of the Desert, and Land of Milk and Honey) offered only in this boxed set of 9; as well as hot chocolate and assorted collections of both milk and dark chocolates.

In addition to creating Unusual, Unexpected and Delicious chocolates, Michael and Richard are working to revolutionize the way cacao is grown.  Michael believes all the focus on refining chocolate starts after the purchase of un-roasted beans.  By working more with soil conditions and other environmental factors, Michael thinks the resulting raw material (beans) can be improved.  The sole focus is on cultivating cacao in Venezuela, where governmental red tape is slowing the process.  One day Chuao hopes to be growing and processing their own beans in Venezuela, but for now they will continue to use El Rey for their chocolate making.

Today Michael spends much of his time talking about Chocolate.  In addition to his chocolate classes, he recently participated in a food festival at Epcot in Florida, and travels to all the fancy food shows, speaking about chocolate to a variety of audiences.  The penetration in the marketplace is evident as you can find Chuao bars in stores such as Cost Plus World Markets, Bristol Farms and Whole Foods, but also in many chocolate and gift stores across the country.  Chuao has also recently signed a deal with Omni Hotels for them to serve Chuao hot chocolate nationwide.  

When I told Michael how much I envied his getting to create chocolate for a living, he countered that getting to buzz around like a bee and experience many different chocolatiers is an even better job.  We had to wrap up as our class was about to start. When I asked Michael how he will know Chuao is successful, his reply was “when we are running two shifts.”  That doesn’t sound like a 9 to 5 job to me, but when you are as passionate about your art as Michael clearly is, I guess it is no longer a job.

Driving a very short distance up the hill from Kailua-Kona, one of the larger towns on the Big Island in Hawaii, I was amazed at how close all kinds of agriculture was to the “city”.  As I rounded the driveway and parked in one of two or three unmarked spots, Pam leaned out the screen door of a charming farm house, waving for us to come in.  Passing under the flowering vine ensconced arbor, I was surprised to find a small reception area with displays for their products, including t-shirts, fudge sauce and chocolate bars.  Along the walls were various pictures of their cacao pods and other parts of their processes. Both the room and Pam were gracious and inviting.

Shortly after arriving I was invited to sample the 3 types of chocolate currently being made before being escorted out back to the orchard where the cacao trees grow.  What an amazing treat to get to be up-close to the beautiful trees laden with the most beautiful assortment of cacao pods in all shades of yellow, red and green!  I crunched around in the self-propagating mulch of fallen leaves gathered under the branches, surprised at the density and proximity of the trees to each other.  The trees “like to hold hands” according to Pam.  I was also treated to a taste of a freshly opened cacao pod, letting the floral but tart mucilage christen my taste buds.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory is the smallest chocolate factory in the world, and the only company in the United States that produces finished chocolate from beans they have grown. Bob and Pam Cooper, owners of the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, had been coming to Hawaii on vacation for over 20 years.  When they retired in 1997, they decided to move to the Big Island.  They ended up purchasing a large cacao orchard, complete with a caretaker, mainly because it was beautiful.  Once there, they became interested in what could be done with the 1300 Forastero cacao trees on the 6 acre plantation that had never really been put to use by the previous owner.

Bob attended chocolate school at Richardson Researches, Inc. (run by the Food Sciences department of UC Davis) for an intensive week-long class on chocolate technology.  Next step was to consult an expert on the quality of their beans, so they sent their beans to Terressa, Spain for tasting.  After receiving a favorable response, a conching machine was purchased from a purveyor in Spain. 

Since the farm is on Bishop Estate land, no existing buildings can be torn down, so they had to lay out the chocolate factory within the existing barn.  To this end, Bob and Pam hired an architect to help them with the planning and layout, and also obtained a loan from the State of Hawaii.  The biggest challenge was the size – they needed to process much smaller batches than the commercially available machinery was designed for.  This required improvising and custom ordering. 

In some cases, such as the winnower, the apparatus was home-built with non-traditional parts which produce the same result.  In other cases, such as the conching machine and the 1,000  lb storage tank, the machines were custom made for them. 

Bob and Pam believe that cacao could be the next agricultural boom for Hawaii.  They feel it is very sustainable in that it does not take anything from the land, and in fact actually improves it a bit.  As of today, there are 60 growers on the islands, 13 of whom sell beans to the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory for use in their manufacturing.  Two of these growers have begun to produce criollo beans in addition to the Forastero, and they are adding new growers at a rate of 3-4 per month

Bob manages all the agricultural aspects of the business.  Their trees produce at a rate of180 days from flower to harvest, with a harvest every 2 weeks.  Shucking is done every other Monday and the beans are left to ferment for one week – three days of rest and then turning each day of the remaining four days.  After fermentation, the beans are sun-dried for 30 days until they reach 7% moisture.  Once dried, they are aged in a humidity and temperature controlled room in  100 lb. burlap bags. The low humidity combined with a prolonged aging of 2 years are factors that Bob feels add to the unique flavor of their beans. 

After the beans are cleaned with the assistance of an exercise treadmill, they are ready for roasting.  Because the adapted coffee bean roaster was taller than the ceiling of the room it is in, a little ingenuity was required.  The beans are actually sucked via a large hose from the storage room directly into the roaster where they are roasted at 265º for 28 minutes. Next they are moved to the homemade winnower that can process only 350 lbs. of beans in one day. 

The beans are conched for the first two hour run to produce the chocolate “liquor” and then ingredients are added to make either milk or dark chocolate  and conched for an additional 13  hours. 

 The  finished chocolate is then stored in the 1,000 lb. storage tank, where it awaits tempering.

The chocolate is poured into the molds, shaken to remove air bubbles and cooled.  They are stored in a cool room where the packaging is also completed.  Pam plus 2 other employees comprise the packaging and shipping department.  They go to great lengths to protect the chocolate when shipped, including foil wrapping and cool packs, but in the summer there are no guarantees.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory currently produces 6,000-8,000 pounds of milk and dark chocolate per year.   Currently they make only plain bars in-house; a 60% dark bar, a milk bar and plumeria shaped disks.  They have just started developing a single origin criollo chocolate and expect to start selling that in the next couple of months. .  I had the opportunity to taste this new chocolate, and was delighted by the upfront earthy flavor with coffee, cinnamon and smoke undertones.  It presented a superb flavor for a 60% chocolate. 

In addition to their plain bars, they send their chocolate to Kailua Candy Company who enrobes macadamia nuts and truffles with their chocolate, and to Dan Belmont in Honolulu who uses Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory chocolate to make a delectable chocolate fudge sauce for the perfect ice cream sundae.  There are 35 outlets in Hawaii that sell their chocolate, as well as Bittersweets in Berkeley/Oakland, California and Sacamore Resort in upstate New York.  They made their first $1 of profit last year, and are in the planning stages of an expansion for the factory.  Both Bob and Pam seem to have a great love for their business, and take great pride in their handmade chocolate. 

As I drove away with my t-shirt and bag of chocolates, I began to add up in my head the number of years I have until retirement, and comparing that to the number of years before Bob and Pam might consider retiring again….that would truly be paradise!

Maker of the Month
June 2007

Ah Cacao
Playa del Carmen, Mexico

I first contacted Rohan Barnett, co-owner of Ah Cacao, when I was planning my trip to Cancun, and discovered Ah Cacao was based nearby in Playa del Carmen.  He was very gracious in agreeing to meet with me and show me around their facility.  As I hurried down the long main drag in Playa del Carmen, 5th Avenue, I was looking forward to the coolness of the chocolate facility.  I passed the original Ah Cacao Chocolate Café and promised myself I would come back and linger at one of the little tables and savor some new-found treat. Upon my arrival at the facility, I was quite surprised to see that the front door was in fact a screen door, and that aside from the large fan inside, there was no refuge from the overbearing heat.  As I stepped inside, I was immediately taken by the entrepreneurial feel of the small facility, and the warmth with which I was greeted.  Surprised by his accent, I learned Rohan is originally from Ireland, and his wife, Mónica Tello, is from Mexico.

The Beginnings
Ah Cacao’s story began several years ago when Rohan and his wife Mónica were backpacking around Mexico and came across a cacao plantation in Tabasco.  Their inspiration was to educate people on all facets of chocolate, from growing to production of a finished product.   As part of an MBA project, Rohan and some associates developed a business plan for a chocolate company, complete with a global distribution strategy.  Rohan has no formal training in the culinary arts or in cacao cultivation.   His knowledge comes from what he calls his library of 20 books all titled Chocolate.  Rohan designed the logo and artwork for Ah Cacao himself, as he couldn’t find a firm to do it for a price he could afford.  His passion for the subject has guided him to where they are today, and where they will be tomorrow.

The chocolate is manufactured in dark, milk and white chocolate bars, as well as cacao pod shapes of solid chocolate.  The bars are simple, marked off in squares ideal for eating, and wrapped in clear cellophane with an Ah Cacao label.  The mini cacao pods come three in a bag, one of each type of chocolate.  The dark chocolate ranges from 70-72%.  Also available is pure cocoa powder and traditional Mexican cocoa tablets for making hot chocolate.  The vanilla used in production is also from beans grown in Mexico, and are also available for purchase.  

Distribution
The Café was opened in 2004 and was both the retail outlet and the production facility for two and a half years.  Late in 2006 they expanded by renting the production facility and purchasing a refrigerated van for delivery of their product to other locations.  Current production level is around 50,000 bars per year, which are sold either through the one Café location or at Plaza de Fiesta, a large souvenir superstore with 6 locations around Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Ah Cacao can also be found at the gift shops in Xcaret and Xel Ha parks and in “Los Cinco Soles” in Cancun airport.

Ah Cacao would like to sell into the US, but they need to set up a US distributor first.   Shipping to the US is a minimum of $40 and even within Mexico it is similarly priced.  At this time, they are speaking to investors to expand the business further, and the US is certainly on their radar.

Challenges
By far the biggest challenge faced by Ah Cacao is the heat.  Storing it, transporting it and maintaining quality in the retail locations.  There have also been many challenges dealing with local politics and business requirements, as well as other unofficial groups who control local commerce.  Having a wife who is Mexican has helped a great deal, but the obstacles are still a part of doing business in Mexico.


Before concluding my visit, I purchased a couple of T-shirts and a beautiful molinillo.  My credit card payment was processed on the laptop via PayPal, receipt and all.  Mónica was out of the office, so I did not have the opportunity to meet with her this time.  I thanked Rohan for his time and wished him continued success with the growth of his blooming business.  As I walked away, I was filled with a sense of excitement and exhilaration that someone could become successful at a business dominated by those with French educations, simply because he felt passionate about it.  I smiled, reflecting as I walked on the inspiration I felt from our meeting.  I made good on my promise to indulge in a brownie, while enjoying a shaded table at the delightful little Ah Cacao Chocolate Café. A sticky but still sublime afternoon…