Ada Azarya, a 2010 graduate living in Miami Beach, Florida, has always been passionate about chocolate. A few years ago, she discovered her passion for cooking, and in her kitchen, she found much more than the great product that launched her business; she also realized that what we eat affects the way we live. Now, as a graduate of the Health Coach Training Program, a raw/vegan chef, and the owner of an organic chocolate company, Ada’s health, self-confidence, and business have all taken off!

What led you to explore Integrative Nutrition's program?

Before IIN I was in Real Estate, but always had passion for cooking, especially because I was born in a country that is known for its hospitality and delicious cuisine, Baku, Azerbijan. When I got laid off in New York City in 2008 from a large real estate development firm, I decided to take some time off and follow my heart to find my true passions. I found myself being very interested in food channels, healthy eating books and books on spirituality. I also started making my own chocolate in all the free time that I had.

My passion for food led me to a discovery that what we eat actually affects the way we think, act and live our lives. I started educating myself in proper nourishment for the mind, body and spirit. It’s so true when we say, "we are what we eat." I came across IIN through researching schools, and enrolling is one of the best things that I have done for myself.

What do you love about the school?

I love that Joshua brings together amazing people, students, and speakers. We truly find our paths and passions at IIN, as it’s so broad with information. We can then take that knowledge and explore it further in the fields of our own interests.

How has your life changed since enrolling?

Since enrolling at IIN, I have learned a lot about myself, how to heal my body naturally, and how to help thousands of people who are in the same situation. Before these amazing discoveries, we are completely clueless that food could be our own medicine. To me food has to taste really good, and my company Cioccolada, which creates organic and raw chocolate, helps people to indulge on something delicious without any guilt.

Your company has grown since graduating: tell us about it.

I'm really passionate about my chocolate company, Cioccolada. To me it’s the work of art. I get to create beautiful chocolate with different flavors, which all have health benefits, such as nuts, super foods, seeds, nut butters, and exotic berries. My costumers are actually benefiting their health by consuming my product. When working as a health coach with clients who have sugar addictions, I have a perfect solution to get them on the right track and understand how something that tastes so good can actually be good for us.

How did you come up with the name Cioccolada?

My name is Ada, which is the last 3 letters of Cioccolada, and Cioccolato is the Italian spelling of chocolate. So the combination of the two created Cioccolada! I always loved Italian language, music, food, and culture, therefore the name of the company and the names of all of my bonbons are in Italian.

How do you balance your health coaching practice with your chocolate business? Do you focus more on one than the other?

I concentrate more on my chocolate, however I love helping people and transforming people’s lives, so I coach as well. I’m also a raw/vegan pastry chef in a few local restaurants and for private orders, and I do presentations and cooking classes on healthy desserts.

How does the chocolate affect your clients' success? Have any clients started to make their own, or are they frequent customers for you?

My chocolate is a guiltless pleasure that makes people happy, including my clients. They are frequent customers, but I always give them tips on how to make an easy version of it in the comfort of their own kitchens if they wish to do so. It helps them with their sugar cravings, because it is sweetened with coconut sugar, and every flavor has different benefits. Also Cioccolada's chocolate suppresses your appetite, as it’s so mineral rich.

How did it help you to further explore the topics you were most interested in at IIN? Did this lead to your current success in business? Which topics were most interesting to you?

I loved IIN because it led me to meeting wonderful people and speakers. Joshua Rosenthal and cooking presentations, to name a few things, have all had an impact on my career, lifestyle, and path in life. IIN gave me confidence and knowledge in my new career path.  Everything is possible as long as we believe that it is and there is there is passion behind it. One of my favorite quotes is "The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge."

What do you love about your work?

I love sharing all the knowledge that I have learned, and helping others live their life to the fullest potential. We all express our love differently. I express it through food, and through my chocolate. We all love chocolate, so I educate people on what the benefits of raw cacao are: how happy it makes us by raising our serotonin level, how it helps us stay young with all of the antioxidants, and most importantly how good it tastes!

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