Meet Nate Hodge, a political speech major and one-time songwriter and vocalist for the alternative folk/rock band, Tall Stranger. These days, however, he’s writing lyrics for a different life chapter, one that involves overseeing development and production of “virgin” chocolate products at Raaka Chocolate in Brooklyn, N.Y.
This somewhat atypical resume for a head chocolate maker actually represents the norm for many employees at Raaka, even more so for its founder Ryan Cheney. It was Cheney — his degree is in computer animation — who discovered the power of raw cocoa beans and minimally processed chocolate.