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02 April 2009

inspiration: katrina markoff

Have you ever come across someone - whether in person or via some other medium - that makes you want to work your ass off to try to accomplish even a fraction of what she has?

For me, that person is Katrina Markoff. I first heard about her 2 summers ago when my great aunt Joyce brought boxes full of Vosges chocolates to our family reunion.

Vosges is an "Haut-chocolate" company that Markoff founded after she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, apprenticed under Ferran Adrià (one of the world's most famous chefs) and travelled the world. Her creations feature spices, flowers and other exotic ingredients (hello, bacon) from all over the world. She invents every recipe herself in Vosges' Chicago headquarters.

To summarize: this lady travels the world looking for flavour inspiration, then blends her discoveries into exquisite chocolaty concoctions. Pretty much the best job on earth.

Since my job places me in the food/lifestyle realm of the interweb, I often come across references to her chocolates. In this video, she explains her brainstorming process:



And, while on Design Sponge a few weeks ago, I was admiring photos of rooms decorated the way I would decorate if I had money. Intrigued, I scrolled back up to see the owner, and it was none other than Markoff. Small world? Or, is it that once we find something that inspires us, it keeps popping up in different forms everywhere. Why is that?

More importantly, how does one become one of the 26 most fascinating entrepreneurs by one's early thirties?

Photo credit: Design Sponge

2 comments:

Jess said...

That dresser is absolutely beautiful, but my god the fingerprints. Oh the fingerprints. I would be a Windexing monster if that piece was in my home.

Unknown said...

Wow, I didn't even think of that. You'd almost have to wear gloves around the house, like an old-school housewife.