In Part 1, I introduced SOMA, a chocolatemaker in Toronto. But what is it actually like to work there?

Well, first of all, it smells great! When you first walk in, there’s a wonderful aroma of chocolate, cookies, and coffee. After working for a couple of hours, you don’t notice the smell so much, but customers often say “Oh my God! It smells amazing in here!” when they walk in, which puts everyone in a good mood!

That’s the second thing - the customers are great because most people love chocolate and they’re happy to be eating tasty chocolate in a place that smells great! Of course there are some troublemakers who try to steal products, but overall the customers we deal with are much nicer than customers at most other stores. 

Speaking of customers, at the Distillery District location, we see lots of tourists from other parts of Canada and abroad. It’s a very diverse group of customers, and some of them don’t speak English. Fortunately, the staff is also diverse and speaks many languages, so we’re often able to communicate with customers, regardless of where they’re from. I’ve even had a few chances to practice speaking Japanese with customers.

You’re probably wondering - “Do you get free chocolate?” The short answer is “Yes!” Staff members sometimes get to sample products so that they can describe and recommend them to customers. You can also have free drinks, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate during your shift. And you might also get products that are damaged for free. Broken chocolate can’t be sold to customers, but it’s still perfectly fine to eat! Most products still have to be purchased, but staff members get a nice discount. 

At this point, you might be wondering what we actually do. Well, there are basically two groups - back of house and front of house. 

Back of house staff members are chocolate makers. They work with special machines to create delicious chocolate, cookies, and gelato! Customers can watch the chocolate makers work through a huge glass window. 

Front of house staff members stock shelves with products, help customers find what they’re looking for, sell chocolates and create custom truffle boxes, make drinks, serve gelato (in the summer), wash dishes, and package chocolate. 

So, is working at SOMA a good job? Yes, it is! It’s a nice environment and we usually have a great team. However, it can get very busy at certain times of the year, especially around Valentine’s Day and during the Christmas Market in November and December. As it gets closer to Christmas, it gets absolutely nuts, and we need a doorman to manage the flow of customers. After Christmas, things go back to normal, and everyone has a chance to breathe again.

If you’re ever in Toronto, Canada, feel free to visit any of the SOMA locations and enjoy some wonderful chocolate!