ABM Tours the Askinosie Chocolate Factory

Recently the A Beautiful Mess staff was invited on a private tour of the Askinosie Chocolate factory. I was particularly excited, because: 1.) I knew we would get to sample lots of amazing chocolate (!!!!!) and 2.) I really wanted Elsie to meet Shawn (the owner). He is such an inspiring business owner. Let me explain.Shawn Askinosie and his family are creators of Askinosie Chocolate. Elsie and I are suckers for small family businesses (I wonder why?). When we arrived we were immediately greeted by Shawn who was handing out dark chocolate and lavender truffles to everyone. He explained he had a business trip to Italy later that week where he would be showing off these truffles, so he needed to practice making them. They were AMAZING. He had our undivided attention after that. :)He gave us a tour of their small factory, located just down the street from our local shop. We got to see first hand the process of cocoa beans becoming chocolate. It is a fascinating process. Certain parts almost reminded me of coffee, having similar flavors and smells. We got to sample chocolate in various stages and even watch the molding process.For me, learning about how a food is made is always fascinating. I LOVE knowing the science behind how bread rises or why brewing coffee works. So to see chocolate being made from scratch was a dream come true. But even more impressive than watching chocolate being born was hearing Shawn's story and the passion in his voice for the business. Before Shawn was a chocolate maker, he was a successful lawyer. But along the way he got really into cooking and making chocolate desserts (like cupcakes!). The idea came to him to make chocolate from scratch, so, well, he did. As he learned more and more about how chocolate was made, he became more and more passionate about chocolate. Just like that, he decided to change careers and follow his passion. Not only is Askinosie chocolate amazingly delicious, it is also ethically made. Shawn flies all over the world meeting and working directly with cocoa farmers making it possibly to eliminate the need for layers and layers of brokers and middle men (and their fees). This ensures farmers are paid a fair wage for their work and that proper conditions are being upheld (like not using slave labor on farms). As you can imagine, all that travel, expense and language/cultural barriers makes this process difficult. But that's how they do it at Askinosie, and our hats are off to them! Shawn said he is constantly finding ways for his small business to do good and help others. Throughout the tour Shawn would explain little things here and there that showed his passion for others. It was inspiring. I think Elsie and I both teared up a couple times. It's hard to face someone with that kind of commitment and passion and not feel inspired. All of us at ABM want to say thank you to Shawn and his team for inviting us in, giving us chocolate and inspiring us with their story. You can read more about their journey here. And if you have any dark chocolate lovers in your family, I highly recommend checking out their online shop. :) xo. Emma

*All photos by Alec Vanderboom

Comments

[Maureen]

Thank you for a great article perfectly placed on "small business Saturday". I know your readers have an appreciation and respect for the work that goes into this website and all of the other creative minds you introduce to us! I hope your holiday has been wonderful, and I will be spreading the word about Askinosie here on the west coast!

[Andie Bordallo]

Hi Elsie!

I'm from the Philippines and Mr. Askinosie actually source some of the cocoa here :) Askinosie's chocolate is definitely an integral example of social entrepreneurship here. Their company helps the towns they source cocoa from in building school houses :)

Andie

[Bethany Bruder]

This was incredibly inspiring. Thank you for sharing!

[call me debbie]

I love it too to see the procedure of making a food, especially with hams and cheese! I love it. However this little chocolate factory seems dreamy, I don't even tryy to imagine the smell of the place. Its workers must be the most happy people on the whole world, or what? :D

tsiou, from http://inwhirlofinspiration.blogspot.com

[abirdsdailylifetale]

Thank you for sharing this!
I think it`s important to support family businesses like those,so tell me do you know if the sell Askinosie chocolate in europe or can you only buy it online??
Wish you a nice weekend and really loved this post

xoxo

[sophie]

oooooh I love going to a chocolate factory! Although I expected some chocolate rivers, the first time I went to a (organic and fairtraide9 chocolate factory was kinda magical...the smell alone makes me smile:)

PS: check out "zotter" it's a chocolatier who just works with organic and fairtrade beans in austria. He's kin of big for this small country;)

[Michelle]

Yesterday I went to a small store called Peace of 5th in Dayton Ohio that is a Fair Trade store that only sells items that are organic and fair traded without labor issues such as human trafficking, debt bondage and domestic severitude. We got to talking about their chocolate selection (a lot of them were askinosie) and it was so fun to taste test a few of them. What a great experience to tour their factory. Loved this post.

[fafuna]

Really enjoyed reading this post. Shawn sounds like such a good person... That's truly inspiring. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Jill - Lune]

Excellent article! You can tell they are true artisans there.

[Katie]

I love hearing about the stories + passions behind others' creative businesses. This was such an inspiring post, and I'm looking forward to sampling some of their chocolate sometime soon. I've got my eye on their dark chocolates! YUM ;)

[The Domestic Fringe]

Now this is the kind of factory I would like to visit! I love chocolate.

~FringeGirl

[Alice Barton]

Wow, that man is so inspiring! Abandoning his career as a layer to pursuit his dreams.. that makes him an amazing human being! thanks for sharing! xx
Alice Barton ♥ The Mow Way

[Naomi A]

That's such an incredible article! I would love to be in the chocolate business right with him. I got teary eyed just reading the post :)

Thanks for sharing!

http://theoccasionalindulgence.blogspot.com/

[Catherine Denton]

I love hearing stories of people pursuing their passions. His chocolate looks scrumptious! Thanks for pointing us his direction.
http://catherinedenton.com

[Gina_AcuteDesigns]

such an inspiring story - and everything looks so delicious!

[Lindsey Bales]

I have visited this shop before, when i was in springfield last. the chocolate is wonderful and so well crafted. thanks for the lovely post!

[Lyndsey]

Fantastic! I feel the same way...loving the science of things, especially baking! It is one reason (besides having the passion) why I opened a bakery.

Greats post!

[Rachel Banek]

wow, that looks absolutely delightful!

http://rachelbanek.wordpress.com/

[Kate]

This is awesome sauce on a couple different levels - I've been wanting to check out the Askinosie Chocolate Factory for ages, and I actually went to college with Alec Vanderboom!

Kate - http://crazylovelyme.blogspot.com

[Emily]

Oh yes please! Purdy's Chocolate had a factory tour to celebrate its 100th Birthday a few years ago and it was truly and experience that my brother and I will never forget. It was cool to see how everything was still hand made despite how much the company has grown over the years.

-Emily
http://from-small-beginnings.blogspot.ca/