Mind of a Maker: Roger Rodriguez of Cacao Prieto

[Interviewer] Have you got the best job

in the world, would you say?

[machine whirring]

Well, it doesn't suck.

It's pretty good, yeah.

People don't say no to chocolate, it's very rare, you know?

[twinkling music]

[triumphant music]

My passion for chocolate first started

in the Dominican Republic.

My grandfather had a chocolate plantation

and my grandmother used to make

the best Dominican spiced hot chocolate.

[triumphant music]

I came America, landed in Queens, went to pastry school,

decide to follow my true passion, which was chocolate.

For me, the kitchen is total freedom.

I love to experiment with new ingredients.

A chef that is into Italian cooking

wants to make their own pasta.

I'm into confections and stuff,

so I wanna recreate my own chocolate.

I feel like I have more freedom

controlling that main ingredient.

[flames hiss]

There's never a dull moment in Cacao Prieto.

[cheerful orchestral music]

[machine whirs]

Cacao Prieto is a beans-to-bar factory located in Brooklyn.

We supply chocolate to some

of the best New York City restaurants.

[beans rattling]

The magic happens with these hands.

Machines don't make chocolate, people do.

Yeah.

[cheerful orchestral music] [machines whirring]

Yeah, I mean, it's pretty to look at

and it's like, hypnotizing.

[cheerful orchestral music]

I look for inspiration in flavors that you memorize.

They come from childhood memories.

Smells and textures and tastes that you grow up.

That's how you come up with a product

that people will recognize right away

but they will say, wow, this is truly amazing.

[chicken squawks]

Okay, that was a fail.

Sometimes when you miss the motherland,

you just have to look outside and if you see chickens,

you kinda feel like you're back home.

[chicken clucks] Shh, shh, shh.

For the people who aren't used to seeing

a cacao plantation, it's actually a miracle.

You see all these colorful, different cacao pods

hanging out of this tree, it's amazing, you know?

And then you see it, you never think

that chocolate come out of there.

You doing something from your motherland,

some people think, this is his dream job.

It's not easy, making good chocolate is hard.

Especially on this scale.

[shaker rustling]

[cheerful orchestral music]

Sometimes I get inspired in the chocolate factory

and it translate into the kitchen.

When we wanna put an event at Cacao Prieto.

Making a tasting menu.

And of course they gonna expect everything chocolate.

Kinda give it that little square, so it could look

like it's someone that knows what he's doing.

You see what I'm saying?

I love creating something that people can't so no to.

Pasta and chocolate together bring kinda like a wow factor.

This thing smells amazing, man.

Nothing smells better than fresh pasta.

I wanted to create an unexpected dish with the pasta.

[cheerful orchestral music]

[sprinkles clattering softly]

[microwave beeps]

[oven door clicks]

Through this process, you are seeing

chocolate and cacao made savory.

It's a completely different ballgame from a box.

Magical.

Look.

[knob clicks]

What makes me happy is you get

different expressions from people.

[cheerful orchestral music]

When you get the oh wow, or right away

you get like, oh my gosh, this is very special.

Delicious.

[cheerful orchestral music]