Before departing, Matt also volunteered to take us on a little tasting of only the finest chocolate’s in the world and because we aren’t idiots, we jumped at the opportunity. It was somewhere between him telling us the difference between cocao and vanilla and his dad, Mr. Caputo himself, joking around with a younger employee behind the counter that I got completely misty eyed and taken aback from this whole situation. Why you ask? Because of the passion that lived in these people. It was truly one of the greatest displays of somebody who is doing exactly what they were born to do, they do it well and who remain so grateful that this is how they get to spend their every day. I just kept standing there, watching and listening to Matt talk about their processes, seeing the enthusiasm and passion pour out of him and thinking “wow – so this is what it’s like..”

And it all started with a block of cheese.

Even though the days prior to this I had sat in big fancy conference rooms listening to amazing speakers, this moment taught me so much more than any PowerPoint presentation or Snapchat 101 class ever could. I want to be Tony and Matt, the dudes who pour their heart and souls into this thing that has become their passion and by doing so, makes the lives of so many people who stop in for whatever it is they need that day so much brighter just by doing what they love.

That was some good stuff right there people. Oh and the chocolate we tasted was pretty incredible too.