In the mid-1800′s during the California gold rush, Frenchman Etienne Guittard journeyed to the Barbary Coast in hopes of discovering gold.
Although he never found it, San Francisco discovered him for the delicious chocolate he had brought from his uncle’s factory in France. Etienne had brought the delicious French chocolate to trade for mining supplies. He found that the wealthy miners were very much willing to pay premium prices for this luxurious treat.
Eitenne then sailed back to Tourmus, France to work in his uncle’s chocolate factory till he could afford to buy his own chocolate making equipment. Already skilled as a chocolate manufacturer, Etienne established the Guittard Chocolate Factory in San Francisco in 1868.
1906 Guittard Chocolate Company was destroyed by the earthquake. But, Horace, Etienne’s son, who was running the company then quickly rebuilt on Main Street. Here he introduced coffee, tea and spices as well as chocolate.
The facility was moved from along the San Francisco waterfront where Guittard Chocolates opened for business on prestigious Commercial Street in 1868 to Burlingame, California by Horace’s son Horace A. Guittard.
Horace A. was instrumental in bring the company into the era of automation. But he continued to operate in old world fashion by producing small batches and tailoring products to his customer needs. This approach allowed the company to be at the forefront of innovation for several American food trends.
Perhaps Guittard’s earlies and most important innovations was their propiertary Guittard Sweet Ground Chocolate. San Francisco’s Cliff House used the blend with their Cliff House Vanilla.
Guittard milk chocolate chips, white chips and super-sized chips and the idea of truffles were some of their other innovations.
The Guittard family has continued as the oldest family owned and operated chocolate company in the US to manufacture a great variety of chocolate and chocolate products for chocolatiers and chefs. And today is only one of ten chocolate makers in the U.S.
Their Gourmet Bittersweet Chocolate, High Sierra White Chocolate and French Vanilla were each awarded 1992 Gold medals by the Chefs in America Awards Foundation.
So, perhaps, Etienne did find his gold.
