The interview with Cecilia Tessieri, founder of Amedei chocolate, ends up being a lesson in life, where the difficulties and painful moments of the last five years are recounted with absolute serenity whilst emerging strong, having an awareness of one\u2019s personal growth, of evolution that has been brought about by unexpected external events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGoing from being a foundress and above all from having a research and product development job to the entrepreneurial role, without specific training or knowledge, without the support of a team, is a very hard test,\u201d she tells me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This challenge taken on without hesitation, like when in the 1990s when she decided to \u201cchange\u201d and follow a completely different path from the one that already appeared to be clearly laid out, opting to open a small chocolate workshop instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, chocolate is the food of the gods and should be treated, handled and understood as such. It is not enough to work cocoa; it is necessary to start from the bean, from the plantation. Thus began her very personal journey that led her to becoming a ma\u00eetre chocolatier\u2014the first woman in a typically male kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWomen have a different sensibility, they have the intuition, being fundamental in experimenting. However, I appreciate the masculine approach, which is different but not less important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five years ago came a new change. Cecilia was catapulted into the world of entrepreneurship. There were tough times, with an awareness that a company cannot remain still but must progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a very painful time, full of sacrifices, of people who abandoned me and others who, rather, gave me confidence; of just compromises reached without ever giving up my dignity but evaluating limits and merits, measuring them in a balance of emotions. I realised that I couldn\u2019t do everything myself. It is true that each of us has an \u201cI\u201d that wants to emerge but the company is a team and the entrepreneur needs partners who support the project, managers with whom to create a balance and to delegate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus came the decision to cede the majority, allowing a foreign partner to enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI chose to see the company grow and develop rather than implode, even if it meant giving up something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn the other hand,\u201d she continues, \u201cCecilia Tessieri and Amedei are two different things. Cecilia is a Ma\u00eetre Chocolatier and this is mine alone, whilst Amedei is something else\u2014it is the company I serve. Surrendering it means helping it to grow and become stronger. It means allowing the story to go on, to continue to bring a smile to those who choose Amedei chocolate. It is the concept of challenge, of giving value to a craft enterprise and making it become great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cecilia and her lucid vision. Cecilia and true love for the company, which is shown not in its possession but in the ability to let it go to allow it to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll this led me to a great undertaking working on myself, on the awareness that in our earthly passage we must always leave a positive mark, putting in our heart, passion, impetus. If too much is planned, what is lost is life itself, which must rather flow smoothly, a river to go along without being overwhelmed. Living life because it is very short. We don\u2019t know when it will end and this is the most beautiful thing: life cannot be controlled. For this reason, it is important to live life with confidence, remembering to always give back, on the basis of that received and welcoming that which comes along even if different because change is part of our renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I said, a wonderful life lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n