Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariana Cidad-Moser.
Hi Mariana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My passion for cacao and chocolate comes from my mom. She owns a chocolate shop in the middle of a national forest park in Venezuela, at 6,000 feet above sea level. My brothers and I grew up in this magical place, being barefoot in nature, going to school in the city, and having the most delicious macrobiotic food from our family friends. Before going to college, I wanted to prove myself in the restaurant business. My first boss was my beautiful friend and super talented chef, Carlos Garcia. As you may know, the restaurant environment is like a harmonious dance of chaos; I quickly fell in love with it. I studied Culinary Arts in Caracas. Later I would become a Master of Pastry in Lima, Peru, all the while backpacking (weekends and holidays) in and around Peru, cooking in every little local restaurant on the way. I met gorgeous people, ingredients, and ancestral cooking techniques.
After having my two kids in the US, I started looking for wholesale natural chocolate to make truffles. This was extremely difficult! I began creating and designing one myself. This is how “GoDark Chocolate” was born. I wanted to create a premium vegan chocolate line for chefs, with all the technical information “geek-chefs” would benefit from to formulate new recipes. GoDark Chocolate is made with premium stone-ground chocolate (all vegan: dark, mylk, and white) with cane sugar, coconut sugar, and sugar-free. Mmmm I love it! GoDark is not just chocolate and cacao products. GoDark Chocolate is part of a community with talented chefs. We work side by side and when they need help, I give private chocolate consulting so they can get the best product out of their recipes. By giving them the technical support they need, they can unleash their culinary imagination. We all grow together by the hand of our amazing distributors. Grateful for where GoDark Chocolate is now, super excited about where it is going!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The entrepreneur’s journey can be a lonely route. Outside you keep it cool, while inside you are dealing with 100 different decisions. Keeping myself centered while everything is changing, that’s my everyday mental work. Balancing work, being a mom of two toddlers, and taking care of myself without guilt, is an always evolving job. The most challenging task of all, learning to negotiate effectively between perfectionism and taking action, has been a big step in order to move forward and stand proud behind my product. Is it a path only full of flowers and sunny days? No, but I’m grateful for it. GoDark is always growing and evolving, and it has taken the best out of me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
GoDark Chocolate makes premium vegan stone-ground chocolate for chefs. We sell through our distributor, Pur Super Foods, all our chocolate lines and cacao products (cacao powder, cacao butter, nibs, and cacao liquor). The Vegan White Chocolate and Vegan Mylk Chocolate, are made with delicious organic plant-based mylks. For the Dark Chocolate line, you can get a variety of 5 different chocolate percentages, starting at 65% and going all the way up until the queen, the 100% Dark Chocolate = pure grounded cacao, 0% sugar. The Sugar-free chocolate line is available in white, mylk, and dark chocolate. We are super excited to announce that in the next few months, we are getting the Kosher Parve certification along with another new side product we will soon announce.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Before moving here in 2011, my perception of Miami wasn’t the best. In my head, Miami was only full of concrete, malls, long highways, superficial people, and neon lights instead of nature inside the city. I couldn’t be more wrong. Is a city with a Caribbean sound of warm, smiley people. You can be in the middle of Miami, and in a few minutes, you can dive into clear water beaches. Nature’s gift, the best therapy anti-stress for the whole city. Also, Miami is a community of immigrants; therefore as soon you get here, you will quickly find help to adapt and get on your feet. A city of talented business owners with diverse cultural backgrounds and the determination of success. I have experienced a huge sense of community between local business owners, where we support and grow together.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@godarkchocolate.com
- Website: https://www.godarkchocolate.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godarkchocolate/
Image Credits
Mago Visual
