Ambrosius Chocolatier Enters a New Era with Next Generation Leading the Way
Isaac May and Katharine Hillman photo courtesy of Ambrosius Chocolatier
Twenty years ago, Gail Ambrosius lost her job as a mapmaker for the state of Wisconsin due to state budget cuts, but with a name like Ambrosius, she decided to fulfill her chocolate destiny. She spent the next year taking classes at Valrhona in Paris and business classes closer to home, and within the year, she opened Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier in Madison, WI. She’ll be celebrating her 20th anniversary next year, and while chocolate continues to run in her veins, she is planning to hand off the business to her son, Isaac May, who started working with her after he graduated college in 2012, and her daughter-in-law, Katharine Hillman, who has worked with her for 12 years. The two met working for Ambrosius, eventually fell in love, and four years ago got married.
“I like to say I’m practicing at retiring,” says Ambrosius, who doesn’t plan to step away entirely from chocolate making. “It’s a transition. I’m just going to slowly pull back and just really gradually let them take over some of the business decisions.”
“We won’t be making any sweeping changes,” says May, who was in middle school when his mom opened the chocolate shop. “My mom has built this amazing business, and she has a loyal fan base, and she has all these incredible recipes. We want to keep it going and make her proud.”
A Lofty Ambition
Ambroisus bon bons photo courtesy of Ambrosius Chocolatier
Ambrosius, who grew up one of 10 children on a Wisconsin dairy farm, admits that the business has changed quite a bit. “When I first opened, it was just me, and my first shop was only 600 square feet. I’ve moved twice since, and we now have 3,500 square feet and anywhere from 15 to 19 employees,” she says. “I never could have dreamed that it’s become what it is today.”
When Ambrosius started, May was in middle school. “I had so many people worried about me,” she says. “They would tell me ‘You’re a single mother, how can you do this? You’re going to lose your house.’ I just threw down the gauntlet and said ‘Just wait.’”
Ambrosius first used chocolate from Valrhona. “You used whatever you could find and get,” she says. “But then as you get more savvy, you start making connections.”
In the beginning she only used dark chocolate from eclectic sources to make her truffles and her bars. Today she’s especially known for her inventive truffles - using fruits, teas, spices and nuts to create confections such as the Machu Pichu, with 65 percent dark Peruvian chocolate, caramelized cocoa nibs, cinnamon, vanilla and candied almonds. Perhaps a nod to her mapmaking past or her adventurous spirit she also makes an Adventurous Collection which includes flavors that include shiitake mushroom, lemongrass with ginger and sweet curry with saffron.
As her business grew, Ambrosius started traveling the globe, and she began single-sourcing her chocolates directly from farmers. Today, a lot of her chocolates come from a woman-owned cooperative in Ecuador. Ambrosius hopes to do more traveling again, as she steps more away from the running of the business, to meet with farmers again.
Plans for the Future
As May and Hillman take over the business, the future is wide open for Ambrosius.
Gail Ambrosius, Isaac May and Katharine Hillman photo courtesy of Ambrosius Chocolatier
“I’m involved in the chocolate community, and we’ve got these chocolate groups and chocolate friends from around the world,” she says. “Before the pandemic, I was planning to go to Costa Rica and visit this chocolate factory to help them come up with a custom blend for us.”
Ambrosius plans on traveling for chocolate, but she also plans to continue doing chocolate education and talks. “I also would like to be a consultant or mentor to other businesses trying to do similar things,” she says. “I’m not going to sit back and play Mahjong all day, although I do enjoy it.”
“She’s such an entrenched part of the community,” May says. “She was a pioneer in Madison.”
Hillman points out that Ambrosius is the one who often gets out in the community to do things like a pairing event at a local brewery or distillery. “I see that continuing on,” May adds.
Ambrosius says she feels blessed to hand off her business to them. “I feel like it’s the best possible outcome,” Ambrosius says. “I’m really excited to see where they could take the business. My daughter-in-law has a culinary background, and my son is kind of the brains behind the business part of it. But I’m still going to be around. The shop is right up the street from where I live, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“We all bring different strengths to the business, and we have an incredible, creative team here,” Hillman says.
But retiring will give her more time to spend with her favorite person - May and Hillman’s son, Andrew, who is almost a year old. “I watch him on Fridays and Tuesday afternoons,” Ambrosius says. “It’s just pure joy. He’s just a doll. I love giving him all my attention.”