Wanderlust Episode 6: Food of the Gods

a map with a passport and camera on top with the text Wanderlust a travel podcast

In this episode, I’m joined by Max Gandy who is a chocolate maker and creator of the blog Dame Cacao, as well as the podcast Chocolate on the Road.

Picture of max holding a basket full of cacao beans on a farm

“Chocolate Maker: This term usually refers to those companies that produce chocolate in small to medium-sized batches from fermented and dried cocoa beans.”

Ecole Chocolat, the school Max went to to be certified as a chocolate maker.

You can listen to the episode on AnchorBreakerGoogle PodcastsOvercastPocket CastsRadio Public, or Spotify. The transcript for this episode is available as a pdf here: 

FOMO: “fear of missing out fear of not being included in something (such as an interesting or enjoyable activity) that others are experiencing”

Merriam Webster

Cool places mentioned in this episode:

Peru

Max received a grant to study chocolate while in college. She studied the business of chocolate in Peru.

Ecuador

In Ecuador Max studied cacao farming.

Guatemala

Max studied how to make chocolate in Guatemala.

South Korea

After college Max moved to South Korea where she taught English as a Second Language or ESL while traveling around Asia and watching the chocolate scene grow in South Korea.

Fiji

Pre-Covid Max and her sister traveled to Fiji to interview Chocolate Makers.

Taiwan

One of Max’s favorite places.

Hong Kong

Max has been here a couple times, while cities aren’t really her thing the milk tea and food is delightful.

Max’s recommended chocolate destinations:

Tokyo

Mexico City

Quito

Lima

London

Dream Trip:

Galápagos  Islands

While this is not the first time the Galápagos Islands has been selected as a dream destination on this podcast it is the first time the reason has been to return to it. Max tends to over work herself in her travels and dreams of just chilling on the beach in the Galápagos and not work.

Craft or Bean to Bar Chocolate Mentioned in this episode:

Rogue Chocolate- sadly has shut down. You can read one of Max’s reviews here. Or an interview about the closing of the company here.

Fjåk  Chocolate– This is the first bean to bar chocolate in Norway. The award-winning bar Max loves is the 45% Melk Brunost also known as milk and brown cheese. You can find it here.

Fijiana Cacao– When you think of chocolate you might not also think of seaweed. Yet Max loved the seaweed and the salty flavor it added to this Fiji and Japanese fusion bean to bar chocolate, after some digging I truly believe she’s talking about this sea salt sesame milk chocolate bar.

Want to try some craft chocolate or bean to bar chocolate? The best place to start is to search for it in your area. Otherwise, Max has many reviews on her blog and Instagram and is usually willing to give recommendations.

This is a cacao plant. It’s the fruit from which chocolate is made.

Curious how chocolate is made? Read this article by Max as she breaks down the process on her blog.

Want to take the quizes Max did? The chocolate quiz can be found here. The travel personality quiz can be found here.

What’s your favorite Halloween treat? Have you tried bean to bar chocolate? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @wanderlustpod.

Below is an embedded podcast feed. The most recent episode will be at the top. To listen to the episode mentioned in this post you are looking for episode 6: Food of the Gods. Otherwise you can listen at any of the above mentioned and linked places.

The Power of Representation Wanderlust

Today we're joined by Nathalie, a Black travel influencer who runs TravelingNat and Fabulous Nat on Instagram and Youtube. Listen to her travel stories, experiences as a solo traveler vs traveling with her family, her advice,  and how she inspired a new wave of native English teachers by putting her experiences and life in Korea on Youtube, as well as her thoughts on the importance of travel within the Black community and Black travel influencers.  You can find Nathalie on Instagram and Youtube.  Wanderlust is on Twitter @Wanderlustpod or available by email at wanderlustpod@gmail.com. The transcript for this episode is available on the blog. This episode is the season 1 finale. New episodes will return in the spring.  — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wayfaringflaneur/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wayfaringflaneur/support
  1. The Power of Representation
  2. Anthropology 101: The Pied Piper of Ball State University
  3. Ghost Stories
  4. Food of the Gods
  5. Into the Wild

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