Domingo Ghirardelli

Organization founder

1817 – 1894

 Credit ยป
132

Who was Domingo Ghirardelli?

Domenico "Domingo" Ghirardelli, Sr. was born in Rapallo, Italy, the son and apprentice of a chocolatier. In 1837, Ghirardelli moved to Uruguay, then in 1838 to Lima, Peru, and established a confectionery, and began using the Spanish equivalent of his Italian name, Domingo.

In 1849 he moved to California, upon the recommendation of his former neighbor, James Lick, who had brought 600 pounds of chocolate with him to San Francisco in 1848. Caught up in the California Gold Rush, Ghirardelli spent a few months in the gold fields near Sonora and Jamestown, before deciding to become a merchant in Hornitos, California. In 1852, he moved to San Francisco and established the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company at Ghirardelli Square. According to the San Francisco Chronicle he is considered San Francisco's most successful chocolatier.

His first wife was Elisabetta and they had Angela Ghirardelli and Domenico Ghirardelli jr. When he lost his first wife he married Carmen from Peru. They had the following children: Joseph Ghirardelli; Elvira Ghirardelli; Louis Ghirardelli; Eugene Ghirardelli.

Around the year 1865, a worker at the Ghirardelli factory discovered that by hanging a bag of ground cacao beans in a warm room, the cocoa butter would drip off, leaving behind a residue that can then be converted into ground chocolate. This technique, known as the Broma process is now the most common method for the production of chocolate.

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Born
Feb 21, 1817
Rapallo
Spouses
Children
Nationality
  • Italy
  • United States of America
Profession
Lived in
  • San Francisco
Died
Jan 17, 1894
Rapallo
Resting place
Mountain View Cemetery

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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Discuss this Domingo Ghirardelli biography with the community:

1 Comment
  • Barbara B. Nielsen
    Barbara B. Nielsen
    Angela and Domenico Ghirardelli Jr., were the children of Domenico and Carmen Ghirardelli.
    LikeReply6 years ago

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