The Intrigue Chocolates Co. Team

Aaron Barthel ~ Chocolatier

Aaron is a trouble-maker... er... truffle-maker.

The youngest of five children, he was raised on the family dairy farm in rural Minnesota. Good food was everywhere, simple and fresh and bound by the seasons. From Mom, the kids all learned a fascination with nature's flavors and aromas, and the joy of using that knowledge in the kitchen. From Dad, they learned an appreciation for the source of food, and a practical and spiritual need to be involved in the process.

Aaron reinforced his interest in food and nature at Saint John's University. The monastery on that site has a long history of brewing, baking, and communal dining. After staying for 5 years, Aaron graduated with a degree in Ecology/Botany.

His scholastic experience was followed by a brief foray into the world of cutlery. Aaron then stumbled into a career as a bread baker on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior. His connnections there led him further into the world of food and drink with an opportunity to spend a year volunteering at a micro-brewery.

Full of bread and beer, Aaron packed his bumbershoot and moved to Seattle. Four years spent in customer service taught him the importance of relationship-building, so when some friends decided to start a catering business with a social ethic, he jumped right in. Aaron brought with him the skills honed at the bakery and an old hobby: chocolate truffles.

Now Aaron is working full time building Intrigue Chocolates. If you ever stop by the welcoming kitchen, you're sure to hear him say with a wink and a bad accent, "Je suis chocolatier!"

Karl Mueller ~ marketeer

Karl grew up in sunny Southern California. On one particularly fateful day the family picked up a Macintosh computer with 100mb hard drive and 4mb of ram. Karl was hooked. Mom and Dad encouraged sporting and scouting during school to stay active, but his free time was most often spent building civilizations, railroad networks, and saving the planet from alien invaders.

With an Eagle Scout badge on his right pocket and sufficient grades on his transcript, Karl headed off to college. He studied Landscape Architecture for a couple years but finished with a bachelor's degree in Marketing and a focus on his passion: the internet and technology.

In 2007 Karl moved to Seattle to jump on a strong opportunity with a local company and live in the city that's always called to him. Currently he works for EducationDynamics (formerly known as World Class Strategy) in search engine marketing.

Shortly after moving to Seattle, Karl was introduced to the fascinating world of gourmet chocolate truffles. Inspired by the company's product and social aims, Karl teamed up with Intrigue Chocolates to lend his skills as a 'marketeer' and businessman.

Kate Barthel-Mayo ~ writer

Kate grew up on a dairy farm and loves anything that brings her closer to the outdoors, nature, or back-to-basics living. She loves to bake pies and bread, pick wild berries, go for walks, and go fishing with her family.

She always wanted to be a writer, but pursued other paths for most of her life. After dropping out of college she helped run group homes for adults with developmental disabilities and learned more than she would have in class about the human condition. She surprised herself by not going back to "work" after her son was born, and instead ran a daycare in her home, something she never regretted.

Kate finally moved to Northern Minnesota to attend graduate school at UMD and completed an MA in Counseling Psychology. Her work on an Anishinabe Reservation as a chemical dependency counselor lasted five years, she had a stint as a college recruiter for Native American students and taught a few Psych classes on the side.

It took almost 40 years for Kate to find her real home: the North Shore of Minnesota. She now lives within view of mighty Lake Superior. A mother of one energetic teenage boy, she is a full-time writer in tandem with her constant companion and writer-husband, Bill. Together they have authored two books about the North Shore detailing the strange, beautiful and historic aspects of the wonderful place they live in; "The Mysterious North Shore" and "61 Gems on Highway 61".