Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao https://damecacao.com/category/interviews/ Sun, 08 Oct 2023 02:18:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 https://damecacao.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-cropped-cacao_logo_final_new-1-192x192-1.png Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao https://damecacao.com/category/interviews/ 32 32 Twice a month we explore a hot topic or destination for chocolate, weaving together history, culture, and lived experiences to make a storytelling podcast that’s part interview & part documentary! Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao false episodic Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao podcast Chocolate On The Road Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao https://damecacao.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/Chocolate_OTR_Artwork_Final.jpg https://damecacao.com/category/interviews/ TV-G c9c7bad3-4712-514e-9ebd-d1e208fa1b76 Interview: Kjartan Gíslason, Co-founder of OmNom Chocolate https://damecacao.com/interview-kjartan-gislason-omnom-chocolate/ https://damecacao.com/interview-kjartan-gislason-omnom-chocolate/#respond Fri, 30 Jul 2021 10:04:31 +0000 https://damecacao.com/?p=17351 "As soon as the show got aired... we emptied out within 24 hours. So we had to start shipping out pallets and pallets of chocolate because the demand just skyrocketed, literally overnight." -Kjartan Gíslason, Co-founder of OmNom Chocolate OmNom Chocolate has become semi-famous over the last year, thanks to a Zac Efron show on Netflix....

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]]> https://damecacao.com/interview-kjartan-gislason-omnom-chocolate/feed/ 0 "As soon as the show got aired... we emptied out within 24 hours. So we had to start shipping out pallets and pallets of chocolate because the demand just skyrocketed, literally overnight." -Kjartan Gíslason, Co-founder of OmNom Chocolate "As soon as the show got aired... we emptied out within 24 hours. So we had to start shipping out pallets and pallets of chocolate because the demand just skyrocketed, literally overnight."<br /> -Kjartan Gíslason, Co-founder of OmNom Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> OmNom Chocolate has become semi-famous over the last year, thanks to a Zac Efron show on Netflix. But even before that overnight explosion, OmNom had been quite famous within the craft chocolate industry in its own right. From their rainbow-hued wolf icon to their bold Icelandic flavors— like sea salt and licorice or burnt barley— they're memorable, to say the least. And as co-founder, Kjartan has been there for all of it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Over the course of the pandemic, he's learned to roll with the punches more than ever, first depending upon the Icelandic public to keep them in business, and then manically trying to keep up with demand. In this interview, we dig into topics like production capacity, craft chocolate ice cream, and the tourist attractions in Reykjavik. So without further ado, here’s my interview with Kjartan. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To read more about craft chocolate, check out where to buy craft chocolate online.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> View this post on Instagram A post shared by Omnom Chocolate (@omnomchocolate) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Topics We Cover<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> how OmNom began forming, back in 2012<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> the story of OmNom's famous multi-colored wolf<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> coming up with their origin lineup and new flavors<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> classic Icelandic flavors & exports<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> opening up an ice cream shop during the pandemic<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> what being on Zac Efron's Netflix show has done for their business<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> life in Iceland now and before the tourist boon<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Kjartan and OmNom Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate's Website.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate on Instagram.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate on Facebook.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Chocolate On The Road<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Instagram: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Facebook: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is We’re Gonna Be Around by People Like Us & Sweet Dreams by Lobo Loco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To listen to the previous episode, click here. Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao full false 44:31 Interview: Julia Choi-Rodriguez & Roger Rodriguez, Cofounders of Vesta Chocolate https://damecacao.com/interview-julia-choi-roger-rodriguez-vesta-chocolate/ https://damecacao.com/interview-julia-choi-roger-rodriguez-vesta-chocolate/#respond Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:06:47 +0000 https://damecacao.com/?p=17297 "Marketing can help, but… it shouldn’t be [the] primary reason that someone purchases a product." -Julia Choi-Rodriguez, Co-founder of Vesta Chocolate Julia & Roger Rodriguez opened the doors to their shop in February 2020, less than a month after their wedding ceremony. Nearly a year in the making, and their official grand opening was waylaid...

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]]> https://damecacao.com/interview-julia-choi-roger-rodriguez-vesta-chocolate/feed/ 0 "Marketing can help, but… it shouldn’t be [the] primary reason that someone purchases a product."-Julia Choi-Rodriguez, Co-founder of Vesta Chocolate Julia & Roger Rodriguez opened the doors to their shop in February 2020, "Marketing can help, but… it shouldn’t be [the] primary reason that someone purchases a product."-Julia Choi-Rodriguez, Co-founder of Vesta Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Julia & Roger Rodriguez opened the doors to their shop in February 2020, less than a month after their wedding ceremony. Nearly a year in the making, and their official grand opening was waylaid by covid. And then waylaid again. And eventually it was cancelled altogether, plans were scrapped, and big changes had to be made to keep Vesta alive— they went full bare bones. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Working just outside of New York City, at the height of the pandemic, the couple hustled to drum up interest through Easter, and then Mother's Day and Father's Day. But not only did they survive the worst of it, but they've thrived, doing well from the start thanks to good advertising. In this interview, we dig into the early days of Vesta, as well as bootstrapped marketing and the future of social media. So without further ado, here’s my interview with Roger and Julia. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To read more about craft chocolate, check out where to buy craft chocolate online.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> View this post on Instagram A post shared by Max Gandy // Chocolate Travel (@damecacao) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Topics We Cover<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Roger's background as a pastry chef and eventually chocolatier and then chocolate makerhome-rigged chocolate making machineryhow Julia's background in advertising and food photography has helped build Vestafinding their bank vault retail shoptheir 2020 timeline as a new businessadvice to young businessesfood photography tipshow bonbons should be made<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Roger & Julia and Vesta Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate's Website.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate on Instagram.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vesta Chocolate on Facebook.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Chocolate On The Road<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Instagram: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Facebook: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is We’re Gonna Be Around by People Like Us & Sweet Dreams by Lobo Loco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To listen to the previous episode, click here. Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao full false 46:44 Interview: Gillian Goddard, Activist Chocolate Maker at Sun Eaters Organics https://damecacao.com/interview-gillian-goddard-sun-eaters/ https://damecacao.com/interview-gillian-goddard-sun-eaters/#comments Thu, 13 May 2021 16:17:54 +0000 https://damecacao.com/?p=17161 "If you have any privilege that you can get away with doing things that make people’s lives better, you need to do it. Because everybody doesn’t have the ability to do it without major life consequences." -Gillian Goddard, Co-founder of Sun Eaters Organics Gillian Goddard puts her money where her intention is, carefully choosing how...

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]]> https://damecacao.com/interview-gillian-goddard-sun-eaters/feed/ 1 "If you have any privilege that you can get away with doing things that make people’s lives better, you need to do it. Because everybody doesn’t have the ability to do it without major life consequences."-Gillian Goddard, "If you have any privilege that you can get away with doing things that make people’s lives better, you need to do it. Because everybody doesn’t have the ability to do it without major life consequences."-Gillian Goddard, Co-founder of Sun Eaters Organics<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Gillian Goddard puts her money where her intention is, carefully choosing how her business spends its resources in order to have the greatest positive impact. She's a self-proclaimed "disruptor" in the chocolate industry, and I've seen no evidence to dispute that; her systems bring to life the concept of entrepreneurship as activism. Over the last few decades, Gillian has built up a number of businesses in Trinidad & Tobago, each rippling into and often overlapping with or absorbing the last, but all having to do with challenging existing systems which get our favorite chocolate bars onto shelves and into our hands.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Whether you've tried her chocolates or not, you'll certainly connect with her message— everyone deserves to earn a decent living. If you work hard every single day, you deserve to be able to afford the basic necessities plus a bit more. Yet most of the world's farmers live in poverty. In this interview, Gillian & I dig into topics like diversification of income, bullying, and empowerment through creation. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To read more about craft chocolate, check out where to buy craft chocolate online.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Vegan craft chocolate made on Trinidad.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Topics We Cover<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> how Gillian's diverse and international background has led her to the path she's on nowTrinidadian cocoa tea as a hearty food for comfort, especially when times are toughthe different definitions of community she's seen play out in the US vs. Trinidad & Tobagoengagement with her source communities, and work to expand that access across the regionentrepreneurship as activismtrend forecasting in organic permaculturedoing the work to move past trauma— even when you're the one who caused itthe bullying mindsetcovid's impact upon her region, and upon the Alliance of Rural Communities with which her work is intertwinedlooking towards the future for Trinidadian Chocolate & Trinidadian producers in a more aware world<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Gillian & Sun Eaters Organics<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Alliance of Rural Communities' Website.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Sun Eaters Chocolate on Instagram.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Sun Eaters Chocolate on Facebook.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Chocolate On The Road<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Instagram: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Facebook: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is We’re Gonna Be Around by People Like Us & Sweet Dreams by Lobo Loco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To listen to the previous episode, click here. Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao full false 47:32 Interview: Erin Andrews, Founder of indi Chocolate https://damecacao.com/interview-erin-andrews-indi-chocolate/ https://damecacao.com/interview-erin-andrews-indi-chocolate/#respond Fri, 19 Mar 2021 17:04:56 +0000 https://damecacao.com/?p=16933 "It’s an honor to be able to create something that helps people." -Erin Andrews, Founder of indi Chocolate Even over the phone, Erin Andrews is someone you just feel drawn to continue chatting and laughing along with. Having founded her first chocolate company in Belize in 2008, over the last thirteen years Erin has used...

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]]> https://damecacao.com/interview-erin-andrews-indi-chocolate/feed/ 0 "It’s an honor to be able to create something that helps people." -Erin Andrews, Founder of indi Chocolate Even over the phone, Erin Andrews is someone you just feel drawn to continue chatting and laughing along with. "It’s an honor to be able to create something that helps people."<br /> -Erin Andrews, Founder of indi Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Even over the phone, Erin Andrews is someone you just feel drawn to continue chatting and laughing along with. Having founded her first chocolate company in Belize in 2008, over the last thirteen years Erin has used this extroverted superpower to build up a subsequent chocolate company in her home of Seattle. That company is indi Chocolate, named after her oldest daughter, who actually inspired the brand's oldest product line: cocoa butter-based lotions.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> indi has since grown into a large fishbowl-style café in Pike Place Market, where Erin has managed to keep on her staff and even take in new business, thanks to some pandemic-fueled creativity. This is actually a hallmark of her approach, as Erin maintains tabs on what her customers are interested in, and then finds the most delicious and sustainable way to satisfy them. In this interview, we discuss topics like working at origin, slave-free chocolate, and community-based business building. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To read more about craft chocolate, check out my guides to Chocolate in Seattle and to where to buy craft chocolate online.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Chocolate drink at Erin's indi Chocolate Cafe in Seattle's Pike Place Market.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Topics We Cover<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> how she got into chocolate making in 2008 with her Belize-based company Cotton Tree Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Erin's roundabout family health journey to bean to bar chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> advice to someone starting a brand from scratch in 2021<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> bringing her corporate experience to building up Cotton Tree<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> finding new sustainable packaging in Brazil<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> looking towards the future for indi Chocolate as a "free from" company<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> the approach she takes of building a business through community relationships<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> her work with the slave-free chocolate movement & Community Carrot<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> putting your money where your mouth in how your business spends its resources<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Erin & indi Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> indi Chocolate Website.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> indi Chocolate on Instagram.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> indi Chocolate on Facebook.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Order Chocolate Directly From Erin!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Chocolate On The Road<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Instagram: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Facebook: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is We’re Gonna Be Around by People Like Us & Sweet Dreams by Lobo Loco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To listen to the previous episode, click here. Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao full false 52:39 Interview: Will Marx, Founder of WM Chocolate https://damecacao.com/interview-will-marx-wm-chocolate/ https://damecacao.com/interview-will-marx-wm-chocolate/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2021 19:09:36 +0000 https://damecacao.com/?p=16546 "A 70% dark chocolate bar is really common, and that means thirty percent of that is gonna be your sweetener. And if thirty percent of that doesn’t really have flavor besides just sweet, then you’re losing a lot of opportunity there." -Will Marx, Founder of WM Chocolate Very few chocolate makers are truly going down...

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]]> https://damecacao.com/interview-will-marx-wm-chocolate/feed/ 2 "A 70% dark chocolate bar is really common, and that means thirty percent of that is gonna be your sweetener. And if thirty percent of that doesn’t really have flavor besides just sweet, then you’re losing a lot of opportunity there."-Will Marx, "A 70% dark chocolate bar is really common, and that means thirty percent of that is gonna be your sweetener. And if thirty percent of that doesn’t really have flavor besides just sweet, then you’re losing a lot of opportunity there."-Will Marx, Founder of WM Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Very few chocolate makers are truly going down a new and unusual path these days, and honestly, at first glance, neither is Will Marx. He's making (mostly) plain dark chocolates from ethically sourced single origin cacao. But simplicity can be a good thing— it takes away the complicated window dressing and opens up the world of artisan food to a larger group of consumers. In it's own way, that's sort of revolutionary.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Over the last year in particular, Will's been restructuring his business in uncommon ways in order to more closely match his core values of high ethics, high flavor, and low environmental impact. So in this interview, the two of us dig into refined sugars, fine liquor, and enlightened outsourcing. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To read more about craft chocolate, check out my article on Millennnials in Chocolate and my guide to where to buy craft chocolate online.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wm. Chocolate (@wm.chocolate) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Topics We Cover<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> how Will got started making chocolate for his own health reasons, and then decided to turn from-scratch chocolate making into a businesstypes of sweeteners in chocolate, and the pros & cons of eachJust Panela and the process of turning cane grass into sugarhow his overall goals with his chocolate and with his company are directing his new business planchocolate as musicthe logistics of moving towards "enlightened outsourcing" and why he's no longer bean to barhis approach towards getting his chocolate into more retail shopsthe impact of the pandemic upon how he'll choose to run his business many years into the future<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Will & WM Chocolate<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> WM Chocolate Website.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> WM Chocolate on Instagram.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> WM Chocolate on Facebook.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Order Chocolate Directly From Will!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Connect With Chocolate On The Road<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Instagram: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> On Facebook: @chocolateontheroad<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Show music is Roadtrip by Phil Reavis, and our transition music is We’re Gonna Be Around by People Like Us & Sweet Dreams by Lobo Loco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> To listen to the previous episode, click here. Interviews & Podcast Show Notes | Dame Cacao full false 1:03:53