Meet the maker
Mucho
Mexican Architect Ana started Mucho with a clear goal: to promote Mexican cacao and its rich history to her fellow countrymen (and women) and to the rest of the world
Ana’s first step towards this goal was to found the MUCHO-Chocolate Museum. The museum is located in Mexico City and educates visitors about chocolate, its history, how it’s made and its cultural significance. It was opened in 2012 and is a “Must See” for any chocolate lover or indeed any visitor to Mexico city
A beautifully restored 1909 building houses Mucho Mundo, a museum and store celebrating all things chocolate. The permanent exhibit includes an enclosed room of 2981 chocolate discs covering four walls, and you’ll also find various sculptures made of, you guessed it, chocolate. ‘Xico,’ a local artist’s take on a Mexican hairless dog, watches over the museum courtyard.
One thing led to another and, in mid 2015, Ana then started Mucho Chocolate as a way to further educated and immerse people in the world of Mexican cacao. Using he knowledge and the museum’s network, she is working with farmers across different regions of Mexico to produce fine chocolate with a uniquely Mexican flavour.
Read our quick interview with Ana below to find out more about her and her chocolate.
What’s your background? Why and how did you get into chocolate?
I’m an architect, with an active design practice for over 20 years. I founded MUCHO-Chocolate Museum in 2010, a cultural institution that celebrates chocolate and has become a vital educational center, promoting knowledge, communication and research about cacao and chocolate and their historical importance.
What mission have you set yourselves for making chocolate?
Our mission is to study, develop and exhibit Mexican chocolate culture, with a philosophy of cultivating the elegance of the spirit and the objects. Making chocolate is a vital part of this mission.
When did you start your company — and with whom? How many are there of you?
Fundación Mucho AC started in 2010, with the on-going collaboration of a diversity of architects, artists, scholars and gastronomers. The chocolate company started formally in 2015, and we´re currently 20 people working full time+ outsourced advisors.
Where do you want to go next? New bars? New beans? New markets?
We´re very interested in working with the rich variety of cacaos in Mexico. Each one of them represents a new cultural experience, and allows us to get closer to the producers, and then share this knowledge with our very diverse public. We´re opening new markets in Mexico and looking for other options abroad. Our work is fundamentally to spread Mexican culture in every possible way.
How did you source your beans?
As a vital center for communication of all things chocolate in Mexico, we´ve been able to meet several cacao producers, and source directly from them.
What inspired your choice of wrapper/mould design? Art and design are the cornerstone of our work. The mould´s inspiration is the shape of the cacao pod, in its cross cut. The wrapper´s design is inspired in the aesthetics of MUCHO Museum and the building´s architecture.
What innovations in technology etc are you pursuing?
Most of our small-batch machines have been specially built for us in Mexico. We are always looking to create new things, learning from Mexico´s capacities.
What is your favourite food? Wine? Other chocolate makers?
There are so many flavors to enjoy, it´s difficult to choose one. Specially with chocolate, and current makers, taste just keeps developing in new and exciting ways.
Want to explore more makers of the world's best craft chocolate? Just start typing their name (or any letter) into the search box to discover them.
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