He says his travels have played a major role in his works because the world is filled with nuance and traveling allows him to seek out and uncover inspiration through the food, art, and especially the people of a particular place or region. For example, he created a collection called Taste of America, which consisted of 50-piece red- and white-striped limited-edition boxes of chocolates; each representing a state and its flavor. For example, there was the iconic Peaches and Cream for Georgia. Old Bay was made for Maryland. Virginia had PB&J while Iowa’s Sweet Corn Basil paid homage to the local maize production. That collection was but one of the many steps in his desire to be an encyclopedia of flavor - to understand food, beverage, ingredients, spices, herbs and oils. Knowing their growth, regional impact and all other aspects would allow him to tell expansive stories with chocolate. It should be clear as he was granted the title “The Real-Life Willy Wonka ‘’ by Forbes, that his inspirations are not limited only from the culinary world. He also loves translating other sensory experiences into edible form. An example is his
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