Ep. 019 – From Dietetics to Chocolate with Sarabeth Yeli Marshall, owner of Yellibelly Chocolates

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Today we have our first food retail business owner! Sarabeth Yeli Marshall has her own chocolate company and she tells us her amazing story of how she got to where she is today. The questions are a little bit different, but this is the side of the industry where anyone can start.

We have a  few more food business ones in stock and the amazing thing about food buisnesses is that you can start anywhere, any time, with any degree.

I hope you find this podcast inspiring…and craving chocolate!

PS: Click here to vote for Yeli Belly Chocolates for the Brassy’s Award!

About Sarabeth “Yeli” Marshall

The proud owner of Yelibelly Chocolates in Southlake, Texas. Visit our store and sample our award winning, artisan chocolates!

Registered Dietitian and chocolatier with over 14 years of experience in the fields of food/nutrition program branding and promotion, menu and product development, wellness program development, foodservice management and USDA food programs.

About Yelibelly Chocolates
(from the Brassys Award Site)

What is your company’s vision?

Working with chocolate requires a range of culinary skills, a bit of artistry and a talent for taste. While technique and hand skills are important to the success of a chocolatier, taste is the most important element of all. To provide something that looks amazing is one thing, but once someone tastes the chocolate, nothing else matters. Our vision is to offer exquisite, flavor-infused chocolate to the masses. We’re willing to break a few culinary rules and set our chocolate apart by offering flavors that tempt and tease. Let’s spice it up with habanero or bring in a savory taste with a procini mushroom infused ganache. In the end, we are going to get chocolate wasted!

What makes your product or business unique and innovative?

Yelibelly Chocolates is built on science and sparkle. Meet our chocolatier, Yeli, the only belly-dancing, dietitian-turned-chocolatier on the scene. Her background is not in culinary arts but in food and nutritional science. She worked as a dietitian for 14 years before opening Yelibelly. That science background brings a different vision to the chocolate from years of working in research and development and it shows in our unique flavor profiles. And then there is the sparkle! The first boutique to sell our chocolate was the dance studio were Yeli was teaching Egyptian Belly Dance. By bringing together her two passions – chocolate and bellydance, we get Yelibelly Chocolates!

 

Key Takeaways

– How Yeli went from Being a  Dietitian to a Food Buisness
– The power of aroma-based Chocolate
– Why Yeli enjoys being creative and loves it when people enjoy her food

What We Talk About

Texas
Artisan Chocolate Company
Bon bon and truffles
Back end selling
Airbrush
Colored Cocoabutter transfer sheets
Registered Dietitian
Genova Italy
Cardemom
Cedar Infused Chocolate
Sriracha Chocolate (not a good idea)
Biggest Challenge we have to face: Misinformation. My background leads me to too much knowledge
Gluten-Free Water
What’s one thing you’d like to know more about?: How do I make new products?
Chicago Callebuat Academy
Valrhona Chocolate Company East Coast
Guitard California Chocolate Course
Callebaut learning library (FREE)
Who Inspired You to Get Into Food?: Ethnic Restaurants, her ex-husband
Kitchen Item: Sil-pad (Silicon Pad), Tempering Machine
One Meal to Eat: Indian Food, more specifically Chicken Tiki Masala
Clove in Chocolate
Advice for Starting a Food Business: Don’t give up, don’t back down. It’s always going to get better. Hang on.
What’s Next: Finding her own place. She currently has a Shared Storefront Southlake Texas Dallas and Fort Worth

 

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