Inside Cerreta’s Chocolate Factory, a
gigantic automated stirrer moves through
a large cauldron of melted chocolate.
The warm ocean of chocolate flows from
the cauldron like water, filling hundreds of
candy molds. Once hardened, the candy
is sent down a conveyor belt, where workers
wrap gold paper around the chocolate
bars.
By the end of the day the factory will
have produced nearly 5,000 pounds of
chocolates, butterscotch, brittles, nougats
and caramels.
While there are no Oompa-Loompas or
chocolate rivers in this candy factory, and
though the conveyor system doesn’t look
like that in the famed Lucy skit, Jonathan
Cerreta says working for the company is
every bit as fun as it is sweet. As an official
chocolate taster, Jonathan might just have
the sweetest gig of all. It’s his job to taste all
of the tempting treats made in the factory.
Fortunately, at Cerreta’s there’s no golden
ticket required for entry. Special guided
tours of the family-owned factory are
offered to give chocoholics a behind-thescenes
look at how their favorite candies
are created.
“The funnest thing is probably seeing
the little kids’ reactions,” he says. “When
they see all the candy, their eyes get so big.
It’s a lot of fun.”.
“Some of these kids who visit the aquarium
have never and may never see the
ocean,” Jeff says. “So it’s a good way to
inspire them to broaden their horizons a
little bit.”
COMPANY: Cerreta Fine Chocolates
JOB DESCRIPTION: Taste all the new chocolates, market
the candy and manage seasonal retail sales. “One part
of the year we’re making chocolate Easter bunnies; the
next part of the year we’re selling chocolate hearts. So
it’s really fun and always changing.”
HOURS: “Not very much. The seasonal time is the only
time I’m busy. Other than that, I don’t work that much
and I never work hard.”
YEARS IN BUSINESS: The company was founded more than
40 years ago by Jim Cerreta, Sr., who learned candy
making at his father-in-law’s factory in Ohio. Jim passed
the trade on to his entire family. Jonathan, one of Jim’s
sons, started working for the factory after graduating
from high school in 1976.
TRAINING: “I don’t have any special training, just years of
tasting candy.”
TASTING: “Any time we create a new flavor, the whole
family and I get involved and make sure it meets the
quality and the standard we like to see.”
MOST DIFFICULT PART: None. “Even when I ship something
wrong in a mail order, I just ship a new box and they like
me again, so it’s easy to fix. I screw up a lot, but I can fix
it really easy. This job is just fantastic.”
HOW DO YOU RESIST SAMPLING THE MERCHANDISE? He doesn’t. “I eat so much candy, it is unbelievable. I’ve always
eaten candy, my whole family has. We just love it.”
HOW DO I GET THIS JOB? Unfortunately, to land a gig this
sweet your last name has to either be Wonka or Cerreta.
The company is family-owned, and the Cerreta family
oversees every aspect of the business. “Everyone in the
family is involved in the business. There are seven children,
and we all work for the factory.”
