Hitting the Sweet Spot: San Francisco’s History of Chocolate

Written By Asal Ehsanipour

For Hong Kong Airline’s January 2019 edition of their inflight magazine, I wrote about San Francisco’s longstanding tradition of innovative chocolate-making. The article includes exclusive interviews with the movers and shakers of the Bay Area’s chocolate scene, including:

  • Alice Medrich, “The First Lady of Chocolate,” who first popularized the chocolate truffle at her Berkeley-based dessert shop, Cocolat.

  • Gary Guittard, “The Re-inventor of Tradition” and CEO of Guittard Chocolate Company, the oldest continuously owned and operated chocolate company in the country.

  • Todd Masonis, “The New Kid on the Block,” whose small-batch chocolate company, Dandelion Chocolate, has helped spearhead a bean-to-bar approach to chocolate.

  • Adam Smith, “The Craft Chocolate Cheerleader,” whose shop Fog City News carries 200+ types of craft chocolate bars from mainly American chocolate makers.

The article also includes a carefully curated roundup of things to do and see in San Francisco.

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Asal Ehsanipour
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