I was lucky enough to be able to go on a very special, if not the most special, LEADS day of IC 2024.
I got to go to a chocolate factory, specifically a Chocolate Kingdom.
This experience was amazing. We learned the process a cacao bean goes through to make the chocolate we know and love.
We also got to taste the cacao bean as it turned into sweet chocolate in each step.
We got to meet the owner of the Kingdom, Edger; he told us his family’s story, as they started in Argentina, having the larger chocolate factory there, before moving to America, where they scaled down their production and now have multiple micro-factory franchises around the country.
While there, we got to make a chocolate pizza; we were able to put gummy bears, pretzels, M&M’s, and marshmallows on it. I went for a pretzel and M&M combo. It was delicious.
All in all, the chocolate factory and Edger's story were incredible; we learned so much about the history of chocolate, and, of course, the tastes were great.
Ryan Melder is an Aleph from the Michigan Region, residing in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and loves to hang out with friends, watch sports, and cook for his family.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.