Photo: Ritzy Ryciak
Photo: Ritzy Ryciak
Autumn Martin may be the first and only non-sugar eating chocolatier you ever encounter. But that makes sense considering Theo Chocolate, the company for which Martin crafts her divine confections, is no ordinary company. The first and only organic and Fair Trade chocolate factory in the country, Theo and the 27-year-old cowboy-hat-wearing, delicious-chocolate-ganache-making Martin have helped revolutionize how many of us melt our worries away. While Martin still loves chocolate, these days she is enjoying it in its purest form — cacao nibs and 100 percent cacao bars. When she isn’t swearing off sugar or inventing new chocolate recipes, Martin’s latest favorite hobbies are food styling (autumnmartin.com) and food preserving. She is also in the process of building a community website (goodgreenfood.org) for foodies and concerned eaters to talk all things food related.
Seattle Sweet Spot
Café Presse. I find myself there more often than I might like to admit. I feel like I am amongst people who enjoy wine at a bargain and good food — the best roasted chicken and frites in town — when I am at Presse. It is kind of a hipster/scenester place to go. I love the way that it makes me feel.
Daily Om
Making my morning coffee — French press decaf from a small San Francisco roaster called Ritual. Yoga — I try and practice three times a week at the Yoga College of India, a Bikram studio in Fremont. I walk my dog every morning in Wallingford.
Wicked Good
Bread and Chocolate, which features organic Tall Grass Bakery baguette, Panama and Costa Rican beans and sea salt. That bar was the edgiest and most controversial of all the 3400 Phinney bars. I just love when you have this odd delicious thing and you worry that it will be too weird; it proves to be a favorite.
Bright idea space
There isn’t just one place that makes my light bulb turn on. Really, it is hard to nail it down to just one thing. I would say energized people, flowing rivers, mountains, love, delicious food and silence all have the capacity to spark a creative idea for me.
Where rebels go to sip
While I’m more of a homebody, I really love going to the Hideout. It is so risqué. I love their Old World cocktails. I love that they don’t have a sign outside their bar, and they serve our confections.
World changing
All farmers’ markets. This is where consumers really get to see who is behind the food that we eat. Farmers’ markets are such an important tool for opening people’s eyes. The more people we can get to shop at them, the closer we are to changing our food policy in this country.
Must have…
I can’t live without feeling love and passion in my life. If the passion is dry, then it is time to make a change.