Maureen Elitzak

Chocolatier Maureen Elitzak is co-owner of Zak's Chocolate, an award-winning, small-batch, artisan chocolate shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of the rare shops who make 100% of the chocolates they offer, they also use only ethically-sourced cocoa beans, many purchased through their longtime trade group partner, Uncommon Cacao, which buys directly from farmers.

Life BC... Before Chocolate! Born and raised in the Northeast, Maureen received an Accounting degree from the University of Connecticut before moving to Arizona. She was a full-time CPA and Mom, raising her daughters with husband Jim (also a finance professional), volunteering for school and community causes, and when their girls were in the American Girl phase, hand-crafting porcelain dolls as a hobby. But a class at a local chocolate shop while living in Illinois was the catalyst for her and Jim to make the transition from high finance to high quality chocolate.  

Cocoa beans are the seeds of the cacao tree, and each cacao origin will taste different based on the bean variety, its growing environment and how those beans are roasted to extract unique flavor profiles. Like coffee and wine, cocoa beans are infused with the terroir of their growing environment. 

Maureen and Jim roast the beans in house to prepare their single-origin and proprietary House Blend chocolate, which is then used in bars, bonbons, truffles, brownies, and other confections. Everything is done by hand, from sorting cocoa beans to wrapping bars to hand crafting the chocolates.

If you are wondering how to properly store such fine chocolate creations... "we recommend storing all chocolate in a cool/dry place, away from sun, at a temperature range of 55 - 73 degrees. If you happen to have a wine fridge, that's a great place to store chocolate. Just let them warm up to room temp before you enjoy!”