A strong love for anything is usually incomparable to anything else. Glenn Petriello truly loves chocolate and dedicated his time to learn about it, understand the art behind making chocolate, and is now sharing a behind the scenes view into this globally loved guilty pleasure. He established Chocotastery in 2018 to share his chocolate knowledge with the world and get them to know the really important fundamentals of tasting chocolate and what each tasting step means.
Glenn Petriello understands that chocolate is one of those things that virtually everyone in the world loves. As impeccable as the taste of chocolate is and enjoyable as it is, many people do not truly understand the intricacies of chocolate’s aroma and flavor. It takes knowing about the extent of hard work by cacao farmers to grow and harvest cacao as well as the post harvest processing steps of fermentation and drying to how the chocolate maker roasts and refines the cacao to fully enjoy and appreciate chocolate’s complex flavor profile. Glenn has undergone the education and put it into practice by establishing Chocotastery. The company has taken it upon themselves to teach people how to better enjoy chocolate, indulge in it and explore the complexities behind it.
To become the chocolate sommelier he is today, Glenn graduated from chocolate and cacao related courses from Ecole Chocolat, Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting, Institute of Culinary Education and International Culinary Center. He is well-educated and well-grounded in the process of chocolate making, and he wants to share that knowledge with the world so everyone can have a good idea of what high-quality chocolate means and how it tastes. He established Chocotastery to make his excellent chocolate tasting expertise and experience inclusive to everyone through virtual chocolate tasting experiences.
Glenn’s journey started as far back as 2009, and in the last decade, what started as pure love for chocolate has morphed into a full-fledged entrepreneurial venture. After learning how to make chocolate confections, Glenn learned the process of bean to bar chocolate making in 2015 and he started his first operation in his apartment in Hoboken, NJ. He moved to a friend’s chocolate company in Seattle, WA, where he worked as their head chocolate maker. He left his job in human resources to take up the new job, and after seven months, he returned to New Jersey with the experience gained to share his passion and knowledge with other chocolate lovers. “I want to share my chocolate knowledge and experience with all those who love chocolate. There is no better opportunity to get on a call with like-minded chocolate fans and enthusiasts and then taste really amazing and unique chocolate,” he says.
His five-year goal is to make Chocotastery the premier place for virtual chocolate tasting experiences. “We will be traveling to several cacao producing origins starting with Uganda in January 2022, and from that experience, we plan to create new experiences for our chocolate-loving audience to not only learn more about those cacao producing countries but also support the farmers in those regions as well as taste chocolate from those origins and further increase love and awareness of craft chocolate.
Glenn Petriello is drawing attention to the otherwise laid-back chocolate community, and he’s doing a great job with his initiatives. Through the company, Glenn has brought together dozens of people during the pandemic. With social distancing measures still in place, people can continue to join virtual experiences as a means of doing something fun and educational with friends, family, significant others, and coworkers.
Carving a niche in an industry that many do not pay attention to is quite courageous, and Glenn is willing to take as many people as possible with him on that journey.Learn more about Glenn Petriello and his work with Chocotastery on its official website.