Meet the Woman Behind Roots Chocolates

Lisa Nelson of Roots Chocolates

Sisters and Brothers in Chocolate, please help me welcome Lisa Nelson of Roots Chocolates. Welcome to The Chocolate Cult, Lisa.

Thank you for contacting me to talk about Roots Chocolates!

You have a long family history in agriculture that ties directly into Roots Chocolates. If you don't mind let's talk a bit about that history and we'll get into chocolate in a few questions. How many generations of farmers are in your family?

I am the fourth generation owner of my family farm.  I grew up milking cows, baling hay and just being a normal farm kid. No one in my family was a confectioner. I got the baking bug from watching my mother bake cookies and desserts. I was always there to taste test!

You mentioned how that family history is incorporated into the marketing of your chocolate. On the label of the 15-piece box you sent us, your family is right there front and center. Would you tell our readers who that farmer is and why you honored him on the label?

The first part of my brand name, Roots, comes from being the fourth generation owner of my family farm. The picture you see on my box label is of my father on my farm in the 1930's. They were to poor to afford horses to pull equipment, so they used the cattle on the farm for it. My father isn't around any longer, but I loved spending time with him. I gained so many of my work ethics and values from him. It just seemed fitting to include him in my branding.

You mention on the Roots Chocolates website that you loved sweets as a child. Were chocolates a big part of that love or did you have other flavors you preferred?

I've always loved chocolate and desserts. I learned allot from watching my Mom make desserts during the holidays.  However, I've always had an affinity for chocolate.  When I started working with chocolate professionally, I really learned how different the mass produced products you find on store shelves are from making my own chocolates with chocolate or cacao beans that I have a direct decision in purchasing and using.

Chocolate Slabs at Roots Chocolates

You have had a varied career ranging from food to computers. Which industry does you enjoy working in most?

Chocolate of course! I enjoyed the ever changing world of technology, but not the corporate environment. When I lost my job in technology, the first person I called was my sister. She said, "I'm so sorry you lost your job."

I said, "I'm so happy I lost my job! It's the push I needed to really focus on what I feel is important in life. I'm going to launch a chocolate business!"   

I think my sister thought I was crazy. I'm just glad that I don't have to work for in the corporate arena any longer. I love making a product that is interesting and unique.  When I started, I figured I'd give it a shot. If people didn't like my chocolates, then it wasn't meant to be.  That hasn't been the case!  I'm going on nine years in business as a Farmer and Chocolatier. I love it!

Do you think that having such varied professional experiences has helped you create and run Roots Chocolates?

I do! Having a background in technology has helped me understand the workings of a website and social media. Being a farmer gives me the opportunity to experiment with growing things that would taste great in chocolate. 

Let's talk chocolate now. Do you personally prefer white, milk, or darker chocolates?

Dark, single origin.  I make chocolate bars from the bean as well.  There is definitely and art to it. Getting beans from different countries, and even regions in countries, affects the flavor of cacao beans. I'm like a little kid when it comes to experimenting with flavor profiles, both cacao beans and the chocolate I use for my truffles.  

While I prefer dark chocolate, I'm all about the flavor profile when developing a truffle flavor.  If the flavor I'm working on calls for white or milk chocolate, then that is what I use.

When you were a personal chef did you work with chocolate very often?

My focus as a personal chef was mainly to make prepared dinners for my customers. Desserts were secondary, so I didn't make them as often because my customers didn't request dessert.

You use a lot of fresh ingredients that you grow on your own farm. Does this mean that you have a lot of seasonal flavors?

Roots Packed Boxes

Yes! Having seasonal selections is great because customers get excited anticipating a chocolate to be released.  For example, my Chocolate Mint Basil is available as long as the mint and basil are growing on the farm.  The Aronia berry isn't ready until later in the fall, so it is released later.  And our Quince are the last fruit that we pick, so it is the last seasonal I have the opportunity to make before the snow flies.  However, I do have a raspberry chocolate in my collection available year around.  The raspberries are plentiful on the farm, so I get so many that I freeze them over, It provides me with a year-around chocolate!

We have about 40 different things growing on the farm from fruits to herbs.  Not all of them are ready for prime time yet. It takes allot of care and patience to wait five years for a tree to bear fruit to use in a chocolate. I take great pride in the end product.

We have already tested your chocolates so I have a few specific questions from our testers. Without giving away any trade secrets I hope you are willing to answer them. How did the idea of making caramel from tomatoes occur to you for your Carmato flavor?

I tell people I dream in chocolate. And it's true!  I grow heirloom tomatoes in my strawbale garden each year. When they are at perfect ripeness, I pick them and process them for the Carmato (heirloom tomato caramel).  I figured a tomato is a fruit, so why not highlight those beautiful tangy, sweet notes in a caramel?

Our tea expert was very impressed by the Lapsang Souchong but he was curious. Is the tea smoked when you get it or is that a process you do when you make the chocolate?

I buy the organic Lapsang smoked all ready. I tried many samples from various vendors before settling on the one I use. I love the flavor! It is the truffle that won me an International Chocolate Award this summer in New York.

Our alcohol specialist thought that your Beer Naked flavor might be made with one of of the Wisconsin beers she loves but it didn't taste like that. Do you use a particular brand of beer for that chocolate?

Wisconsin has a very large craft beer market.  I'm partnered with a local brewery in Waunakee, WI that is little over a year old. They have my chocolates on their menu to pair up with their beers. 

Finally, which flavor is your favorite of all of those that you make?

In my standard collection, which are the chocolates I always have available, the Ol' Fashion is my favorite.  It has lots of Wisconsin in it. Wisconsin distillery, Wisconsin bitters, and muddled cherry juice from my farm cherry trees. I candy my own orange rind for the decoration because I'm too picky and can't find a candied orange rind on the market that suits my tastes.

Of the seasonals, I'd have to say the SassSquash is my favorite. It's local farm squash with our farm grown ginger.  I tell people there are sightings of the SassSquash on the farm. It makes people smile.

Thank you, Lisa, for answering our questions.