Marcel has always loved what he does - whether it is orchestrating food for a world-class restaurant, writing cookbooks, or running a chocolate cafe'. You could say the same thing about his retirement. After being in the restaurant business for 55 years, starting as a 15-year-old dishwasher at a supper club (the only break being his service in the Marines during the Vietnam War), he deserves to take it easy. A history buff, Marcel has read 15 books since we sold MAD about Chocolate in January, including Valiant Ambitions about the rivalry between George Washington and Benedict Arnold, War of Two about the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, a book about General Sherman, and Tex
I've always been mesmerized by the moon. It's like a hole in the sky where you can peek through and see the mysteries on the other side. The moon inspired this painting, called "Moonlight Becomes You: And so did the eponymous song made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and others: Although Cat Stevens' song "Moonshadow" has a cheerful melody, it is not only about the magic of the moon. It is about resilience and making the most of challenges. The song always gets in my head when life doesn't go as expected. This became especially meaningful when, right after we sold MAD about Chocolate, my mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. In spite of her physical challenges, my mother just keeps
In January 2016, Marcel and I closed our beloved cafe', MAD about Chocolate, and sold it to restaurateur Mike Riordan, so Marcel could retire. Does this look like a man who wants to retire? Well, yes. As for me, after working MADly for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week (and loving it), the last thing I wanted to do was stop my shark-like ways. The first thing I wanted to do was spend more time creating my lifelong passion: art. During the MAD about Chocolate Days, I hadn't exactly taken an art hiatus. The cafe' was my gallery, and I needed to keep it filled. But I spent more time creating chocolate, advertisements, Facebook posts, customer service and employee enrichment than I did art. So
