The Business of Chocolate, by Alice Henry

Alice Henry

The Business of Chocolate

 

Thursday, March 26 we went to Geneva, IL a little city near to Chicago. When we arrived, I was surprised by the charm of this city and the population who was very welcoming.

The first place that we visited was a firm of chocolate named Graham’s who is managed by a man and all his family. We discovered a lot of original chocolate creations and we learned about how running a business like this. And as every business, it can happen problems. They must be very careful about the origin of chocolate, in what condition it was grown, if the temperature was good and if there is a problem they need to find an alternative like find another supplier. Another problem is the price of the cocoa beans because it’s very expensive so usually they need to negotiate, for example, they can make an agreement with other business to buy cocoa beans in large quantities and bring them in containers.

The second place where we went was another store The Sugar Path that sell chocolate products, like cupcakes. The manager spoke to us about her experience and how she built her business with her collaborator. After we went to a prestigious hotel The Herrington located next to the Fox River that we have had the privilege to visit. Then the manager spoke to us about how manage a hotel, that everything must be perfect for customers, they have strict schedules…

 

During this day, we met others important persons like the mayor of the city, the owner of a restaurant and two fashion designers who created their business.

I was impressing about the motivation and the willingness of these people who had the courage to set up their business. The courage to say, “If I want I can” and just realize their dreams. Like our professor Mrs. Beck said to us, even if you have problems and even if sometimes things don’t happen as you wanted, you must persevere in what you really want and never give up. Thanks to this day, I learned a lot about how build its own business. About Geneva, I found this city very pleasant, all the houses aligned with a clean garden as we can see in American movies. The other thing that moved me is fraternity between the resident of the city. Everyone knows and help each other. There is a good atmosphere; and I really want to go back for a weekend.

 

 

My favorite culinary creations this day were the chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels. I had never tasted before and I found it was delicious especially the mixture of salt and sugar with the pretzels.