Interview: Pam Williams, Founder of Ecole Chocolat

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We all come to chocolate from a different perspective... [but] for me it's really all about education.
-Pam Williams, Ecole Chocolat

Pam Williams is somewhat of a legend in the world of chocolate. She's been in the industry for over thirty years, and she's been teaching the business of chocolate at Ecole Chocolat since 2003. The school offers classes in chocolate making from bean to bar, chocolatiering, and all the other courses you'd need to start up your own chocolate business. It's largely responsible for spreading the craft chocolate movement from North America to Europe and beyond, because this school is entirely online.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Pam for the most recent episode of this chocolate podcast—which you can listen to here— but her story is so interesting that I knew I had to share more of it. So here's a blend of Pam's life experiences, perspectives, and the little stories that have made her the person she is today. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Note that the topic of the internet plays heavily in my questions thanks to the podcast episode I was interviewing her for.

A post shared by EcoleChocolat Chocolate School (@ecolechocolat) on Jun 13, 2018 at 7:10am PDT

Pam (right) & her business partner and niece, Alysha (left)

Topics We Cover

Pam's foundation in chocolate & her first time seeing cocoa beans
Being an early adopter with technology
Starting Ecole Chocolat
The challenges of running an education business online
How Pam got into coding and started her previous online business, which had absolutely nothing to do with chocolate
The evolution of technology over the last few decades