Chocs ‘N Boxes: A Cacao Farm-to-Chocolate Shop Story
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Owners Sailyn and Gerry Dean (Photo courtesy of Ivan Kevin Castro)
Gerry is an immigration lawyer, whereas Sailyn is a registered nurse. They are still far from retirement, but they thought of retiring someday in Gerry’s family coconut plantation in Calbayog City, Samar, Philippines.
The Philippine government encourages farmers to plant cacao trees by distributing seedlings. “Growing cacao trees would increase yield from the land,” Gerry says. “In addition, they grew well under shade, so our coconut plantation did not need to be altered.” Organic farming is practiced by using the worm African Nightcrawler as a natural fertilizer for the cacao trees.
Cocoa is the seed of the cacao tree. Cocoa beans contain a lot of fat, and it is used to produce cocoa butter, which is then used to produce chocolate.
Out of curiosity, Gerry enrolled at the Chicago Chocolate Academy. His teacher, Yan Migault, who is originally from France, was superb, and he learned a lot. Although Gerry enjoyed the class, he thought making chocolates was just a passing fancy.
Just as the cacao trees started to bear fruit in 2021, COVID-19 became a worldwide problem. To keep themselves busy during lockdowns, Gerry and Sailyn searched ways to market their cocoa, like joining Facebook groups in the Philippines. They realized that farmers really have no financial incentives because there are many intermediaries in the trading. “Farmers easily give up because there’s no money in growing cacao,” Sailyn tells me.
Enter Migault again. He consulted Gerry on legal matters. In their conversations, the idea of having a chocolate shop came up. It came to fruition when Migault ended up as Gerry and Sailyn’s consultant in establishing Chocs ‘N Boxes. “Everything fell into place,” Gerry remembers. “A convenient store space was available, and the machines were shipped from Montreal. Above all, we had plenty of enthusiasm!”
Sailyn is the chef. But who would be the assistant chef? A family that consulted Gerry on immigration highly recommended Noel Santos. He is no stranger to the confectionery business because he had been a pastry chef in Manila, Kuwait and Atlanta. And he is no stranger to chocolate either because he frequently used it in making pastries.
Chocolatier Noel Santos (Photo courtesy of Ivan Kevin Castro)
“But I had to learn many things in making chocolates, especially timing,” he explains. “The most crucial is roasting cocoa beans. I make sure the cocoa butter is not burned.” Ideally, the cocoa butter should smell like a brownie. Also, patience is needed. It takes four to five days for a chocolate to achieve creaminess, that is, the melt-in-the mouth taste.
Chocs ‘N Boxes is the only chocolate shop in the U.S. that buys cocoa straight from a farm in the Philippines. Cocoa is shipped by air from Calbayog City to Chicagoland. By directly processing cocoa into chocolate products, Choc ‘N Boxes encourages farmers to intercrop their farms, mostly coconut farms, with cacao trees. Because Chocs ‘N Boxes is involved in the production and marketing of its own products, the sustainability of cacao is ensured. Farmers are also empowered because they are provided with stable incomes.
Farmer Jasper Sabas (Photo courtesy of Chocs 'N Boxes)
Gerry and Sailyn Dean take care of cacao farmers in the Philippines. Furthermore, they pay tribute to their Filipino heritage at Chocs ‘N Boxes. With their stylish presentation, they carry unique Philippine-flavored chocolates: ube, pili, guava and calamansi bonbons. Their innovations help establish and expand the identity of Philippine chocolates internationally. Always striving for excellence, they won the following awards from the International Chocolate Awards 2022 in New York: silver, Bahadi Milk Chocolate 40%; silver, Calamansi Caramel Bonbon; and bronze, Caramelized Hazelnut Chocolate Ball.
From a cacao tree to a chocolate bar, Chocs ‘N Boxes goes a long, long way!
Chocs ‘N Boxes
4371 N. Cumberland Avenue
Norridge, Illinois 60706
Tel. (708) 695-5256
E-Mail: info@chocsnboxes.com
Website: www.chocsnboxes.com
The author wishes to thank Vilma Castro for her assistance in the interview.
Rey E. de la Cruz, Ed.D., Positively Filipino correspondent, writes from Chicagoland when he is not loving the arts and longing for his hometown in the Philippines: Ballesteros, Cagayan. He was the first documented film student (University of the Philippines) and high-school film teacher (San Beda University) in the Philippines. An educationalist, he originated and disseminated the use of the ancient Philippine board game sungka as a teaching strategy. He was awarded the Gawad Balagtas for Drama in Filipino by UMPIL, the Philippines’ largest organization of writers, “for his pioneering creative spirit that imagined and expanded what can be possible for today’s modern theater.”
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