Hey, that title is not a very flattering description of Aaron, Intrigue’s chocolatier. Then again, it may be an accurate description–if you call creative genius madness! Aaron was pleased to chat with folks from his alma mater, St. John’s University (SJU), in an interview about his success with Intrigue Chocolates Co. St. John’s Magazine’s Glenda Burgeson seemed delighted to feature Aaron in her article entitled “Food, Glorious Food“. The article showcases seven SJU alumni who are rising stars in the food and beverage world. It was a well-rounded menu with a chef, vintner, beer brewer, a cheese-maker, and of course a chocolatier.
Aaron Barthel (class of ’98) majored in Natural Science. St. John’s is a little university with big prestige, located in back in the lakes and woods of Collegeville, Minnesota. Teamed up with the College of St. Benedict–a sister-college with a separate campus and the other half of the academic departments–total enrollment is around 4,000. CSB/SJU may be small, but they have an international reputation for being a starting point for free-thinkers and creative minds who rise the top of their fields.
While at SJU, Aaron was part of an intellectual community that has a stated commitment to create community and foster hospitality. Aaron credits SJU with reinforcing his sense of responsibility for the people and environment around him, as is evidenced in Intrigue’s sense of stewardship in our operating principles. Burgeson reports that the arrival of a box of Intrigue Chocolates created a rousing diversion at the St. John’s Magazine office, with demands for fair sharing practices!
For those of us at Intrigue that have known Aaron awhile, we can attest that his mad-scientist tendencies go way back to childhood experiments in his mother’s kitchen; you just can’t hold a creative genius back! Catch the whole story at: ( http://www.sjualum.com/publications/Pages/Autumn_2009.aspx) or (http://www.sjualum.com/publications/Documents/Autumn%202009/8-Feature_Article_Food_Glorious_Food.pdf)