Transforming Today's World Magazine Volume 3 Issue 6 | Page 18

The Chocolate Diva..... Lecia Duke only “benefactor” is her God given, creative gift that translates into everything she touches. This is a woman who LOVES to see people enjoy a loving, sensual, breathtaking, one of a kind experience, when they taste her chocolates. Her Quintessential chocolates are simply the best of the best. I can assure you; Lecia Duke has definitely earned the crown of Chocolate Diva. But how did all this evolve? Is there a correlation between chocolate, creative energy, craftsmanship and love? Is there really a difference between chocolates? Oh; dear ones, I assure you… there is! To understand this phenomenon, we must take a look at how this all began. Lecia Duke started her journey in life, surrounded by creativity, intelligence, and love. Her father was an engineer and her mother an artist, so it made logical sense that Lecia would combine the best of both worlds, and become an architect. She graduated from the University of Houston, Magna Cum Laude, first in her class, with a bachelor degree in architecture. Is life all about achievement? If you ask Lecia Duke, she would probably say: no. I believe her heart would say:… Life is about …love: pure and simple…love. But, what IS love? Love could possibly be the most illusive emotion known to man. We would be lying if we said we didn’t think about it all the time-that love didn’t matter-that we didn’t need love. In Lecia’s case, I have a sneaking suspicion that her ability to GIVE love is the most important desire in her life You may be asking yourselves, how does love translate into CHOCOLATE? How did chocolate Diva, Lecia Duke, build an International chocolate empire that spans over a quarter of a century? Money, you say? Investors? A benefactor? I don’t think so. In fact, I would say that the power of love and a servants’ heart, built Lecia’s ministry of Chocolate-yes, ministry. Lecia’s 18 www.fbgwoman.com Her talent propelled her into the first female position in the design department of Morris Aubrey Architects, where she worked after graduating. But “logic” was not enough to keep this amazing talent in architecture. Being an Architect never fed her soul. Lecia states: “ As a child, I would go to my Mothers art studio where I would paint, do leather tooling, or make fire pottery. My father taught me the mechanical, logistical, and analytical side of life. He taught me sheet metal drawing at eight years old so I could make pots and pans out of construction paper for my doll house. I had the best of both worlds. But it was in my mothers’ art studio, that I learned to express the language of the soul.” Through art, Lecia assimilated a consciousness of creativity that became an expression of her true self. She grew to believe, that art is a gift, and should be