Chef Jael Rattigan of French Broad Chocolate Lounge - Biography

As a self-guided, self-taught chocolatier, Jael Rattigan dropped out of business school to pursue her passion for making chocolate. Together with partner and fellow chocolatier, Dan Rattigan, she moved to Costa Rica, where she studied the botany of cacao at the source. After buying an abandoned cacao farm and playing with chocolate recipes, she and Dan opened up Bread and Chocolate, a café and dessert shop along the Caribbean Coast. In 2006, the duo moved to Asheville, North Carolina and founded French Broad Chocolates, and later, French Broad Chocolate Lounge. Through the continued success and expansion of this mom and pop business, Jael offers customers inspirational, hand crafted artisan chocolates that incorporate the vibrant culture of North Carolina food producers.