Marc Forrat - Chocolatier

Marc Forrat was born in Brazil in 1972 to French-Algerian parents, Eveline Jeanne Yvette Pastor Forrat and Camille Ernest Forrat. Marc's entrepreneurial spirit was nurtured early on as his mother owned a Bistro/Health Food store in Brazil. Through his mother's example, he learnt that integrity, honour and hard work were essential in life.

Early Love of Chocolate

Most children like to eat chocolate but Marc wanted to create it. At 12 years old, he decided to make his own chocolate recipe by borrowing a couple of bags of nuts and cookies from his mom's Bistro. Combining nuts and cookies with 2 pounds of Nestle chocolate from the local grocery store, Marc made little bite-sized clusters and gave them away to his mother's customers.

Seeing the success that his "clusters" had on customers, he started playing with molds - from Easter Eggs to various holiday sculptures.

Young Entrepreneur

At 16, Marc moved to France with his mother. Four years later, Marc opened his first business. A Franco-Brazilian Bistro just like his mom's. After a year he realized he loved dealing with customers but he wanted to incorporate his love of chocolate into his business. He closed his Bistro and worked for a French Chocolatier in Nice, France who took Marc under his wing and taught him the fundamentals of chocolate-making. Marc trained for 5 years, selling his creations to friends, restaurants and bakeries.

Following the Heart Abroad

While in France, Marc met his true love and future wife, Elia Rodrigues, a Portuguese native from Canada (West Lorne - outside London, Ontario). Marc moved to London, Ontario in 1996 and was married in 1998. Joining the love of his life, he moved to Canada and brought his mother and his love of chocolate across the Atlantic with him. They lived in Windsor and Toronto before settling in London. He learned English, took a few business courses from the Small Business Centre and with their support, opened his first store in the Covent Garden Market called "La Chocolaterie Forrat" in September 2003. He then opened a second location called "Bistro Chocolat" on Dundas Street in London, Ontario, where he served French staples of the Bistro world like Croque Monsieur Crepes, Salade Niçoise and, of course, chocolates. After a short time, Marc ended up closing the Bistro and re-focused on the chocolate world.

Slaying a Dragon with Chocolate

Despite being in Canada for less than 10 years, Marc received Canada-wide attention when he appeared on CBC-TV's business reality show Dragon's Den in 2006. The show gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to pitch for funding to expand their product and/or concept. He was offered a $200 000 investment deal with Jim Treliving, co-owner of the Boston Pizza chain who wanted 50% of the business and 200 franchise outlets across Canada. The deal was later not fulfilled - Marc wanted to stick to his roots and grow the business through the reputation of his home-made success, and natural ingredients/suppliers. The Pizza giant decided that Marc's vision was too small for their investment. Click here for news coverage and video clips.

Spreading the Love

Today Marc spends his time as father to his beloved daughter Emilie, husband and Chocolatier-making recipes, training staff, planning for future store expansions and volunteering his time as a public speaker and supporter of local community charities and events.