Preston Stewart’s parents like to cook. Growing up he was exposed to all sorts of homemade dishes. He liked to watch cooking shows on television, and by the time he was a teenager, he considered himself a “foodie.”
He attended college and decided to study biochemistry with the intent of going to medical school. Stewart finished his degree but decided not to seek a medical degree. After founding several startups that produced chocolate, he is now the director of chocolate at Onyx Coffee Lab.
“I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated well-prepared meals,” he said. “I’ve always appreciated chocolate.”
Following college, he lived in a house with several roommates. One of them, Charles Davidson, started a nonprofit to help with food insecurity in Uganda. On a trip to the country, Davidson acquired several pounds of cocoa beans.
He brought them back, and Stewart began experimenting with creating craft chocolates. Stewart noticed how different craft chocolate tasted. The two formed Hello Cocoa, and later, with a different partner, Stewart opened Markham & Fitz.
In 2020, his business partner bought him out, and Stewart wasn’t sure what he would do. Following a conversation with Onyx owners Jon and Andrea Allen, he began developing the company’s chocolate offerings later that year. The chocolate division of the company fully launched in 2021.
Recently, the company opened a coffee shop in Springdale, and the new facility allows customers to watch as chocolates are being made. It also allows for them to interact with workers, he said.
Among other things he’s created for Onyx is a specialty chocolate sauce that is used in coffees.
Why chocolate?
“We are creating a product that is almost universally loved,” he said. “It’s a fun thing.”