Jessica Spaulding

Harlem Chocolate Factory

My name is Jessica, life-long Harlem resident and chocolate lover. I grew up in an anti-sugar home but there was one exception to this rule, CHOCOLATE, and not just any chocolate high-quality dark chocolate.  My mother knew the higher the quality of the chocolate the lower the sugar and better the flavor. I became obsessed. We'd attend the chocolate show every year and I learned about chocolate from around the world.

I tempered my first batch of chocolate at 10 years old. But, growing up in Harlem being a chocolatier wasn't a supported career path. The short story version is I don't believe in giving up.  In High School I participated in a program called Expanding the Walls at the Studio Museum of Harlem where we learned photography through the lens of the famed Harlem Renaissance photographer James VanDerZee. It was during this time I learned the true legacy and history of Harlem and fell in love.

The class, culture and elegance of Harlem was, and still is, so beautiful to me. Years later and here I am finally ready to step out and do what was always in my heart.