"I feel like I’m living my own little dream.”
Willy Wonka, eat your heart out. Jessica Foster, owner and creator of Jessica Foster Confections, is elevating chocolate to a level never seen or tasted before. A trip to Spain in her late teens inspired Jessica’s intense passion for food and she’s now ‘driving her destiny’ one exotically delicious truffle at a time.
Jessica always knew she wanted to pursue a career in food but upon graduation from college, she decided to test the culinary waters before diving head first into chef school. “I was pretty gung-ho and even offered to work for free,” Jessica admits. Her hard work landed her a job in one Santa Barbra’s most prestigious restaurants. Unfortunately, reality didn’t live up to the dream. While she loved her work, the long hours and low pay were grueling. Jessica found herself at a crossroads. She admits she asked herself the crucial question, “Why am I not as successful as I thought I would be?”
A disappointing rejection from a graduate school program only intensified the issue but instead of throwing in the towel, Jessica began imagining what her ideal job would be. Though she never saw herself as capable enough to own or manage a business, the perks of entrepreneurship looked more an more attractive everyday, “I realized that if I spent the rest of my life as a chef, cooking other people dinner, I could never have a family. It’s hard for a woman in this field.” So, with a mere $2,000 loan from her father, Jessica set out on her mission to own a “cool food company.”
Mission accomplished. Jessica Foster Confections is growing steadily as an online/word-of-mouth venture with plans to expand to a storefront soon. While she is admittedly exhausted wearing so many hats (she’s does everything from hand- dipping each piece to packaging to keeping the books), her truffles set her apart from the competition. Ever had a milk chocolate and sea salt/pepper treat? It isn’t just good…it’s unreal. How about white chocolate with lavender? Or dark chocolate with chilis? Yum, yum and mmmm…
A few years later, Jessica is still hard at work filling orders and getting the word out about her business. Incredibly, a Whole Foods in Santa Barbara came asking about her truffles and she’s in the works to have her line sold there. And even with all this success there are always a few bumps along the way. Originally Jessica was determined to have her truffles be all Organic. But when she realized that the final product would suffer, she modified plans and moved forward. “I used to always hold out for perfection,” she said. “But I realized that I have to keep evolving and growing.”
So to our Gutsy Gal readers, it’s time to reassess our lives in this New Year and change course where necessary. Because after all, isn’t life like a box of chocolates? You never know what you’re gonna get.
Treat yourself or a loved one to Jessica’s artisanal truffles by shopping online at JessicaFosterConfections.com. After finding something you like, call Jessica at 805/637.6985 and tell her you're a "Gutsy Gal" to enjoy a 10% discount. For orders over $100, Jessica will throw in a Gutsy Gals favorite ... the white chocolate assortment (a $32 value!).
It’s foodie heaven…
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