Our Chocolatiers, Top Banana, and Second Banana

Max & Ally share a deep passion for exploring world cultures. Their favorite way to do this is through food. College sweethearts, they have lived, worked, & traveled for decades throughout Europe, Canada, and Asia. Between them they speak 6 languages.

Max Sinclair holds a B. Comm. and M.B.A. and spent 12 years as a management consultant & partner for one of the world's largest New York-based international consulting firms with Fortune 100 clients around the world. Yet he remains an artist at heart. A self-taught designer and photographer, he creates all of the packaging and graphics for Cocopotamus chocolate. "I love color and the raw feeling of design elements," he says. "Something simple yet fresh, unique and colorful is always appealing. That's why I chose non-traditional packaging and website design for Cocopotamus." This sense of artistry is also Max's approach to cooking. First immersed in cooking as a young boy, he was taught by his grandmother, a masterful home cook of international cuisines. He began cooking for his family from the age of 11, as the sole caretaker looking out for his younger siblings. From there, he went on to master Italian and Indian cuisines. "I have a fascination for learning about spices, herbs, ingredients, and techniques. I believe that the way a culture cooks tells you about the heart of their beliefs and their way of life. Italian cuisine is about simplicity and purity of flavor and ingredients. To me, this also expresses the joy the Italians exude when they dine, gathering with family and friends. Asian cuisines are typically about sharing and reflect the collective nature of their cultures. French culture is more about the individual, and that cuisine is an expression of individual creativity and of artistic sensibilities. This is quite different from Asian and Italian cooking, where you create big dishes for all to share, and you know it is about the dedication to family and to community." Max's approach to chocolate is to understand the balance needed to create flavors that are rich, deep, complex and unique. He dreams up the most artistic Cocopotamus chocolate flavors, such as "Rosie Posy", infused with fragrant Mediterranean rose water. "The underlying approach to great chocolate is the same as with any world cuisine," he explains. "It's all about flavor, harmony and balance."

Ally Sinclair, a self-confessed chocolate addict, holds a B.A. in Communications and both Professional Chocolatier and Master Chocolatier qualifications from École Chocolat. She also worked as magazine editor before entering the world of food full time. Her love of travel and world cuisines merged with her training as a home baker, at the hands of her father and grandmother, which began at age 2. "I especially love to see the old-fashioned, traditional desserts in every culture. I always look to see what their equivalent of the Snickerdoodle, the Blondie, or the homemade chocolate might be. When I was very young my father took care of me, and we would explore the ethnic cornucopia that is New York City together at lunchtime - especially Chinatown and Little Italy. Sesame fritters from Chinese dim sum, traditional Italian cannoli and tiramisu, Greek honey cake, Japanese wagashi sweet rice cakes, Macedonian poppy seed rolls, pumpkin-coconut custard from Thailand, Middle Eastern baklava, Dutch Christmas wafer cookies, Sri Lankan cardamom cookies - these are the flavor experiences that I grew up with." Having explored so many cuisines, Ally approaches chocolate from both a world perspective and a Zen one. "The approach I absorbed in Japan is very Zen: When you eat, eat. When you work, work. When you play, play! Just because you can use a wide gamut of flavors, doesn't mean you should. With Cocopotamus, I want our flavors to be bold, vibrant and true to their own nature." Sumos Never Sleep matcha fudge truffle takes Ally to her days as a high school student in the Tokyo area in Japan. In addition to studying the Japanese language, she immersed herself in learning tea ceremony. "One bite of our green tea chocolate fudge and I am there, in that time and place. Our Hang Loose coconut chocolate? It is Hawai'i, in every way. And our Razzmanian Devil is such a pure expression of black raspberry, I can feel the summer sun on my face as I pick berries on my grandparents' farm as a child. Each of our flavors needs to be a pure expression, a statement."