Happy Mother's Day weekend y'all. In this podcast episode, talking about how I've been feeling both as a mama and as a business owner at this stage of parenthood and business. If you're a mama with a biz too, perhaps we can relate :)

Happy Mother's Day btw to all the mamas out there!! So much love to you!

The art of no expectations, a much easier said than done concept, yet one that can help you to maintain some sanity as you're building your business. In this episode of the "I Heart Chocolate Podcast", I talk about why it's important to remain unattached from the outcome, and by doing so, how you can move forward even faster.

Happy Friday y'all! In today's episode, I'm sharing some of the top resources/books I've used in my chocolate career, per special request of a listener. 

Knowledge is power and if you're looking to grow your chocolate brain, here are some resources to help you:

Peter P. Grewling "Chocolates and Confections"
Jean Pierre Wybauw "Fine Chocolates 2"
Ramon Morato "Chocolate"
So Good Magazines esp. #22
Jean-Pierre Richard's "Ganache" (only available in French)

Happy reading! 

We are back, y'all! Yahoo!!

WHAT A WEEKEND last weekend! Had to come back and do a podcast episode with a very special guest, my hubby, my partner, my Portuguese stud, Bruno Codinha!! YAYYYYY.

Anyways, we wanted to share a bit about our experience for our first ever Chocolate Salon. First time as exhibitors anyways (both of us have attended previous salons in general). And have to say, coming back from this weekend just was the kind of positive, awesome experience that just reaffirms everything that we do. 

And extra cherry on top? We were featured/pictured in the SF Chronicle Sunday morning. Not too shabby!

So much fun. If ever you are a chocolate lover, go check out the Chocolate Salon. There will be another one happening in LA later this year as well as another one for San Francisco! :) We plan to be there!!

Oh, this one is a bit of a tiffy, folks. It is a personal pet peeve of mine to see false information or incomplete information being shared out there. As a chocolatier who massively respects this industry, and with the rise of social media in general, I have witnessed countless times chocolate knowledge being dropped that isn't 100% accurate. Recipes being shared that aren't balanced (VERY common!). And it disturbs me. 

In this " I Heart Chocolate Podcast" episode, I speak on why FREE is not necessarily better when it comes to learning chocolate and how it could effect your future (in a not so great way). Some tough love in this one, but always honest. 

What is it really like running Codinha Chocolate, you may wonder? In this podcast episode, I let you in on what it's like. Directly from my eyes and how it runs and why it is set up exactly how it is. For those looking to open up shop, hope you take away the biggest lesson from this: You can do and create anything you want. Question is: What are you doing to get there?

Patience and Ambition. Two things that don't seem to go hand-in-hand, but in hindsight, truthfully, marry so well together. 

If you are HUNGRY for success, but you lack patience....you're in for a rude awakening. If you have tenacity to go after what you want and invest in yourself to get yourself ahead in the game, you're gonna go further, faster for sure....but guess what, patience still comes into play.

I emphasize the importance of patience in this episode, because well, I had to be it. I needed to learn it. I realized its value over the last 14 years. And the pay-off is tremendous. 

Pop-ups. We love 'em, we hate 'em. Money making or money wasting? Join me on this episode as I dive into how to make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck at a pop-up, and some helpful tips to avoid the dreaded bust. 

Curious about whether culinary school is necessary to learn chocolate? Are you debating about the pros and cons of making that huge investment (especially if you live in the US, it is a massive investment). In this "I Heart Chocolate Podcast", I break down exactly what I learned about chocolate through school, and where it fell short. 

With everything going on in the world today, just had to come on real quick and speak out about how lucky we are for the simple joys of being able to do what we love, have a home to return to, and family to hold.

Count your blessings my friends. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the violence currently going on in the Ukraine. May they get to safety and peace come soon.