Nebraska’s sweetest kept secret finally gets told

Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - 12:30pm

by Chris Flanery, College of Journalism and Mass Communications graduate student

On a brisk autumn morning inside Bakers Candies in Greenwood, Nebraska, streams of milk chocolate ooze down long conveyer belts. Amidst the hums and clangs of the factory floor stands Brandee Weber, salivating to tell her fellow Nebraskans all about the rich chocolate industry this state has been keeping secret.

Weber, a 2003 alumna of the CoJMC with a major in broadcasting, has been busy crafting an hour-long documentary focusing on the history, production and sociology of chocolate in this corn and cattle state. The documentary, titled Nebraska: The Chocolate Life, will premiere on NET, Nebraska’s PBS and NPR stations, in February 2019.

Weber joined NET in 2015 as a producer after working in broadcast news at 10/11 News  in Lincoln for 10 years. In the spring of 2018 she was doing a Bible study centered on chocolate, had read an article in the Lincoln Journal Star about candy maker Russell Stover and was trying to get Bakers Candies to donate chocolate for a personal event. She started thinking a documentary about chocolate in Nebraska could work and convinced NET it was something that could bring in money.

“As a producer for pledge programs, you have to think more about something that has wide appeal and is not controversial and has big potential for items that people can pledge for,” Weber said.

A Google search for “chocolate in Nebraska” became the launching pad for Weber’s journey that has now taken her all across the state, including an out-of-state trip to Kansas City.

“I was looking for regional diversity,” Weber said. “I didn’t want it to just be Lincoln or Omaha. I also wanted something so it wasn’t everyone making the same kind of chocolate. I love the surprised looks I get when I tell people there’s actually a lot of variety when it comes to chocolate in this state.”

Finding chocolate variety in an agricultural powerhouse like Nebraska was no easy task, especially considering what the state is stereotypically known for. According to the USDA Nebraska had just over 10 million cattle and calves and 1.6 billion bushels of corn in 2017, ranking third in both categories nationally. But hidden among all that livestock and corn, Weber found some delectable operations.

Her documentary will cover:

  • Bakers Candies in Greenwood, the only chocolate producer in the state running on automation

  • The history of Russell Stover in Lincoln

  • Shinya Takahashi, a professor of practice in nutrition and health sciences at UNL, who sells his award-winning, handmade chocolates at The Mill in Lincoln

  • Christopher Elbow, a UNL alum who takes chocolate from bean to bar and owns his own company in Kansas City

  • The Cordial Cherry in Omaha, whose handmade chocolates have been featured nationally

  • Cup of Coa in Kearney, a unique hot chocolate mix

  • Bertha Mueller in Sidney, who sells her handmade chocolates out of her home only twice a year

  • Serendipity Chocolates in Tekamah, billed as “every woman’s dream shop.”

“I always love just getting out and talking to the people,” Weber said. “To me, that’s one of the best parts of being a producer is just hearing people’s stories. Of course, all the chocolate samples have been fun, too.”

Weber ends most of her interviews by asking each chocolatier what their favorite chocolate is, receiving a variety of answers unique to each individual. So, what’s Weber’s favorite chocolate?

“I challenge you to find a chocolate that I don’t like,” she said.

Production on the documentary ran from August through early October. Editing will take place from October through early January, with a February 2019 premiere just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Weber’s broadcasting education, as well as her real-world experience, has taught her that change within the industry is a constant. She has a strong idea of how the documentary will turn out, but knows it’s important to be fluid and make tweaks along the way.

“If you don’t like change, you probably shouldn’t get into this business,” Weber said.

Weber chocolate story photo
Brandee Weber (left), with fellow UNL alum Christopher Elbow, discuss aspects of Elbow’s chocolate making process at his new production facility in Kansas City, Missouri. Elbow is one of many chocolatiers featured in Weber’s upcoming documentary. (Photo/Chris Flanery)