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Born and raised in San Francisco, Gary Guittard, now President and CEO of the Guittard Chocolate Company, enjoyed a childhood filled with rich family history and lots of hot cocoa. In the old four-story brick factory on Main Street, Gary spent many a day tasting, observing, and learning amidst the heady aroma of cacao beans roasting on the third floor. Though his life would take the inevitable twists and turns, Gary's childhood experiences foretold of a consummate chocolate maker who requires absolute perfection from start to finish.
When Gary Guittard joined the family business in 1975, he was in charge of developing specialty chocolates, and he often traveled abroad with his father, Horace A., soaking up every nuance of the chocolate making business. By 1989, when he became President and CEO of the Guittard Chocolate Company, Gary fully understood that chocolate making is an art form, complex and demanding, requiring tireless effort throughout the process.
Guittard Chocolate Company is one of only ten chocolate makers in the US, and one of few that works directly with growers, long before harvest. An expert team at Guittard travels the world, working closely with growers to assess the development of individual crops and to oversee the fermentation and drying process of the cacao beans. Whether working with the bold and traditional, or the unique flavors and characteristics of rare heirloom varieties, Gary is constantly searching for that elusive blend or single origin bean from which to develop a whole new and exciting chocolate experience.
 The painstaking process of transforming the dried cacao beans into an American treasure is done in Guittard's Burlingame facility, where cherished recipes and techniques, handed down from generation to generation for over 135 years, are still in use. From French roasting, to stone grinding, to conching formulas developed by great grandfather, Etienne, Guittard Chocolate Company's superbly crafted artisan chocolate can only come from the expertise and inspiration of a family-run business intent on continuing its long and distinguished legacy.
Gary Guittard referenced the hand-written journals of his
great grandfather and company founder Etienne Guittard
while developing the E. Guittard artisan line of chocolates.
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