Carol Gancia: The Long and Winding Road to Becoming an Artisan Chocolatier

Pastry Arts Podcast

Carol Gancia is the founder and head chocolatier of Kokak Chocolates, an artisanal chocolate company that specializes in small-batch single-origin heirloom chocolates in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco and ships within the continental U.S. Hailing from San Francisco, Carol Gancia is an immigrant, LGBTQ member and rising female chocolatier. Kokak, which means “ribbit” in the Filipino language, is inspired by Gancia’s Asian heritage. She spearheads the creative process in designing each chocolate’s flavors and pairs it with colorful, playful designs.

In this episode we discuss:

• How tasting European chocolates as a child inspired a lifelong love of chocolate
• How she embarked on a first career in video production
• Her stint as a television producer for culinary shows
• How she learned the techniques of crafting artisan chocolates
• How Gancia launched Kokak Chocolates
• Her love for Nacional cacao from Ecuador
• What the LGBTQ community means to her
• And much more!

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