Canada Post has announced that Sudbury’s Raven Rising Indigenous Chocolates is one of the five 2022 Tales of Triumph winners.
This program celebrates small business stories and accomplishments from across Canada and this year’s five winners will each receive a prize package valued at $20,000, including shipping and marketing credits, marketing services, promotion across Canada Post digital channels, and national and regional targeted media campaigns.
Raven Rising Indigenous Chocolates was selected as the winner of the Canada’s Choice category. One of two new categories this year, the Canada’s Choice category saw Canadians vote for their favourite contest finalist.
Raven Rising is owned by Red Seal pastry chef Tammy Maki, who started the company in 2020 after moving back to Sudbury from Western Canada. She offers chocolates, truffles, hand-painted and hand-crafted chocolate bars and other treats, all made with Indigenous ingredients and sourced from Indigenous businesses globally.
As a Sixties Scoop survivor, Maki wanted to start a chocolate business as a positive way to share and educate others on Indigenous traditions.
She has a long history in the chocolate and pastry scene, having studied at Cambrian College before heading west to work in upscale hotels from Alberta to B.C.
Maki planned a wedding cake and pastry consulting business in Sudbury, but that idea fell apart with the onset of the pandemic. No weddings, no wedding cakes.
So Maki began to experiment with chocolate, with a focus on fair-trade Indigenous businesses and environmentally sound practices and packaging for her tasty treats. She also recently opened a storefront in downtown Sudbury, at 66 Cedar St.
If you would like to order Raven Rising chocolate or pastry, or subscribe to her local monthly Ajijaak Chocolate membership club, visit RavenRising.ca.
— Sudbury.com
