How Tina Codinha Mentors Chocolatiers to Help Them Find Success and Happiness

Tina Codinha of Codinha Chocolate grew up in Los Angeles in what she calls a traditional Asian family. Her dad is a doctor, her mom is a nurse so it was expected that she would be the next doctor in the family. Her family enjoyed daily desserts, often some form of chocolate (ice cream, cake, Toblerone, Hershey’s). Tina also had a strong interest in art, “But,” she says, “I never thought that the two would combine.” But combine they did. We sat down with Codinha to learn how she got into chocolate to learn why she got into chocolate instead of medicine and how her career has progressed so far.

You were top of your class in premed in college, what led you to chocolate instead?

I didn’t feel fulfilled. I didn’t want to do med school for the next 10 years, but I didn’t know what makes me happy. I was freaking out, because my parents were asking, ‘What are you going to do with your life if it’s not pre-med?’ I attended a career fair, where the main speaker was a bioengineer who had switched to become a chocolatier, Michael Antonorsi. Wait, I thought, you can do that!? You can be a chocolatier? That rang bells. I took an intro course and knew what made me happy: Chocolate.

How did you decide what to do after culinary school?

When I graduated culinary school, there wasn’t a clear path of what to do next. One chef told me to “seek out the best and get your foot in the door.’ I was in San Diego in 2010. A friend in New York said there’s a lot of chocolate shops here, come and visit. I went there for 4 days and toured them. The last one was Jacques Torres. I researched him and found out, oh my God, this guy is huge!

I just walked into shop and asked to meet him. When he came out, he asked if I had an appointment? I said, no, but my name is Tina, I am an aspiring chocolatier and I want to know how you become a successful chocolatier like yourself? Thankfully, he sat down with me and took the time to explain, Build a 5-year plan, and work for the best. He inquired if I lived in New York, and I said, No, I live in California. ‘Too bad, maybe if you lived in New York, I could help you.’ He gave me his card and phone number. I thought, oh my gosh, this is a golden ticket! I flew home and told my mom, I think I’m moving to NY.  Did he give you a job? she asked. No, he gave me his card. My parents thought I was crazy.

I tried calling and emailing his shop for two weeks, but never really got an answer. What to do? One of my mentors told me, if I were you, I’d pack up my things, get on a plane and show up with my tools in hand. My mom was adamant: You can’t move to a new city without a job. I said, Mom, if I never move, I may never have a job.

Chocolate was the first thing that made me happy and I wanted to pursue that. I didn’t want to look back, and wonder what if? I called and told them at Jacque Torres, ‘I’m moving to New York,’ they called back, saying Chef Jacques would like to meet with you. I thought, Hallelujah!  When I arrived in New York, I called Chef Jacque’s shop and said, ‘I’m here,” and they told me they didn’t have a job position open. What?? But offered me a non-paid internship. Okay. Foot’s kind of in the door. For a month, I worked for free plus my friend hired me as a waitress in a sushi restaurant at night and then after a month, they offered me a position.

You must have been very determined!

I feel like many people in this industry get crushed so easily. It’s hard, but how bad do you want it? People will say, oh you can’t make a living in chocolate, but why should you let other people put limitations on you? Explore what makes you happy.

You and your husband started an online business in 2020, why not a physical store?

I did dream of a brick-and-mortar shop, but now that we do consultations and mentorships, I like the flexibility. Benefits include that we are not tied to one place, and not depending on foot-traffic coming in. With social media and the internet, you can appeal to so many more people and work at your own hours. The challenge is that we don’t have a physical place where people can pop in and see the display, so we take orders and ship them.

Your tagline is “French techniques and Filipino flair” what does that mean to you?

Bruno and Tina

It just so happened that every chef I have worked for has been French. And French culture in the industry is very intense, focused, and precise. I was under French training my whole career. My husband, Bruno, being French, had only worked with French chefs as well. We met through chocolate. The Filipino Flair that I bring is very warm, with bright colors, more friendly.

Tell us about the Wanderlust collection

Wanderlust was the first collection that I created. Our business was born in 2020 during the start of COVID and everyone was itching to travel. So, I created a collection that had flavors of places that had I traveled to, that speaks more to the fruity flavors in the Asian side in my influence. Our Sakura is a mix of cherry blossom, rose and hibiscus. We also have yuzu, coconut, and passion fruit. And we have an ube truffle. I had to do that because I love ube. Grew up eating it the purple confection in desserts at Filipino parties. My husband, Bruno, who is Portuguese-French, asked, ‘What is that purple thing?’ It’s a staple in Filipino culture, you mix it with condensed milk and sugar.

How did the mentorship program you offer come about?

I have 14 years’ experience in chocolate, my husband has 16 years. The mentorship program came as we were building Codhina chocolate and learning the business side of it.  I realized that there were a lot of aspiring chocolatiers out there who were learning the craft and technique of how to make chocolate, but they didn’t understand what exactly goes into building a business and the mindset you need to succeed in this craft. The misconception often comes from looking at social media. When someone posts a pretty picture of a bonbon and you think, ‘Wow that’s so cool.’ It looks easy, but it’s really never like that.

You might see a 3-day class or a 5-day class offered, but we wanted to create a program where we are with you on your journey for a huge chunk of time. Our mentorship program runs for 3 months or 6 months, and we are with you through the ups and downs of building out your business. You can message us or call us, and we will guide you and support you. Because we understand it so well ourselves.

Do you see aspiring chocolatiers as community rather than competition?

It’s funny because it took me a while to embrace and be open in the chocolate community. Before, I had that fear mentality that everyone is an enemy and if I share this, they’re going to judge me or copy me. But I realized that so many people go through the same struggles. And by being freer on social media, expressing myself more, I started connecting with people who felt exactly the same way and we became great friends.

Now, I don’t see it as competitive and restrictive, I see it as there’s enough for everyone. And if there are more people who can do what they want to do—and that’s chocolate—then that’s great, it’s amazing. We should all be able to feel happy doing what we love. That’s my mind set.

What’s next for Codinha?
I would like to expand the mentorship aspect. I’ve always enjoyed making chocolate, and I like what we are doing now; we don’t have totally rely on the chocolate making aspect for our income, it’s more the guidance that we are providing. I would like to do more speaking at events to get the message out about my journey, as someone who had no clue how to do chocolate, then, all of a sudden, chocolate turned into a passion. Then I overcame all these hurdles and happened to build a great career for myself.

I want to provide inspiration to people who want to do this and show that it’s possible. You just have to put yourself out there and seek out opportunities. There were so many challenges I faced in the last 14 years. But in social media land, everyone just sees highlight reels of your best moments. It looks like ‘Oh, she’s so successful, it must be so easy.’ But it’s not. I also have a podcast that speaks about different aspects of being a chocolatier. I don’t think in competitive terms I think in abundance for everyone. If you can help someone with a similar dream, why not?