About The Pod
Ever wonder what it really takes to turn cacao beans into incredible chocolate? The Chocolate Pod takes you behind the scenes with the passionate chocolatiers, makers, and innovators crafting some of the best craft chocolate. In every episode, you'll hear the real stories, lessons learned, challenges overcome, and the pure joy of creating something people love.
How It Started
If you've been to a craft chocolate festival, you might have seen my wife, Darlene, and me dressed up in cosplay. She goes as the Chocolate Queen while I don a shiny gold suit as the Golden Ticket. What started as a fun way to show our enthusiasm for chocolate turned into something bigger. Fellow attendees stopped us for photos. Vendors asked us to hold their products for social posts. We quickly became part of the festival experience—and we love it!
As we continued traveling to chocolate festivals, we realized how many incredible stories were behind each and every chocolate bar. Stories about people who left careers to chase a dream and the gamble of starting a business amid times of uncertainty. These stories deserve to be told, and we wanted to do what we could to help.
How It’s Going
As a management consultant and business owner, host Zack Gallinger-Long brings a unique lens to these conversations. His experience allows him to ask research-informed questions that appeal to both chocolate consumers and industry professionals.
The Chocolate Pod exists because small businesses work incredibly hard to get their names out there, and they deserve someone who genuinely wants to amplify their work. Each episode is an opportunity to learn, explore, and celebrate great chocolate alongside listeners who feel the same way.
Where We're Headed
The Chocolate Pod is off to a great start, interviewing craft chocolate makers and attending chocolate festivals across the United States. In 2026, we look forward to attending even more chocolate festivals, hosting live tasting experiences, and finding more ways to help people discover and celebrate craft chocolate.
Want to attend a live event? Check the events page for upcoming experiences.
Ready to listen to the podcast? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and share episodes with fellow chocolate lovers.
Make it
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.