Meet Lisa Caroline Jaimes-Toon | Chocolatier, Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Caroline Jaimes-Toon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa Caroline, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The success in the Carolina’s Chocolate brand is the story. Carolina was truly a wonderful, caring, creative person.

Carolina’s Chocolate could not have evolved had it not been for her. I have taken what she taught me and developed a line of chocolate that expresses her flavors, her efforts of providing for her family, her love.
Each flavor of Carolina’s Chocolate has a connection to someone I love. My grandfather always had a bowl of fresh green chili on the table. He would pass it over to me and watch as I added a spoon full to my plate, I was five.
He represents the Jalisco Jalapeno with the sweet cream of white chocolate and the warm glow of jalapeno.
Spicy Sonoran is a picture of Carolina at the age of 22. She represents my traditional Mexico, that is why Spicy Sonoran’s flavor is the traditional Mexican hot chocolate she made at Christmas.

Often, I am told that Carolina’s Chocolate flavors remind them of their home, their grandmothers cooking, their Christmases.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I chose this question because I think I am a creative person. It has been creativity that has given me the most joy in my life’s work. I was a history teacher for 15 years. Being creative in the classroom in order to convey the information was a constant challenge. I reveled in the opportunity to make history intriguing, and fun. The love of food and cooking had always been a hobby, until I decided to leave teaching and enter the culinary world. The opportunity to create a menu for clients and execute, was a thrill. The immediate feedback of their enjoyment was my blue ribbon. Catering was exhilarating, fast paced, and very hard work. It fulfilled my need for creativity and was ever changing. My third chapter in my career came about as a lark. The idea of chocolate kept interrupting my thoughts. I dabbled in creating some flavors. I checked the market to see if there was anything like it. I kept passing out samples to test the response of the product. It got to the point where I had nothing to lose but to move forward and see if anyone would buy it for their stores. Carolina’s Chocolate growth has been a steady climb. Overcoming the set back of Covid, and maintaining growth was a big challenge, but we survived. I feel success isn’t based solely on money, but in the enjoyment of reaching goals. The challenges, the creativity, the hard work makes me feel vital, empowered, and alive.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Arizona has so much to offer. From the airport we would drive on up to Cottonwood and stroll through town to shop and sip wine in the many tasting rooms and have lunch. Then off to Sedona for a spa day in the red rocks. Stay there for a night or two to hike, eat, and shop. Onto Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon. Downtown Flagstaff is so much fun. Great breweries, restaurants, and views. A hike on the paths of Snowbowl is a beautiful day to take in nature. A day or two in Flagstaff brings you back down through Jerome for some site seeing landing in Prescott before you head back to Phoenix.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The biggest shout out is to my husband Roger. He not only encourages me to go for the goal, but also supports by hauling all the equipment for our weekend festivals. He has delivered, promoted, and sold Carolina’s Chocolate. He is my sounding board and advisor. Do I do all that he recommends, No, but it is good to hear a different approach. it certainly keeps me thinking. Second in line is my possie of cousins. They are the work force that keeps on giving. Their support in tying thousands of bows, participating in events, selling, promoting and their enthusiasm is unwavering. I am blessed to have such generous people around me. That generosity was a standard in Carolina’s home.

Website: www.carolinaschocolate.com

Instagram: Carolina’s Chocolate

Linkedin: Lisa Jaimes-Toon

Facebook: Carolina’s Chocolate

Youtube: Lisa’s Cooking