From engineer to chocolatier

In 2015, Pensack-Rinehart enrolled in pastry school at Johnson & Wales University in Denver while continuing to work part-time in software engineering and at bakeries. She said she was grateful for her husband’s support as she took the leap into a new path, although it was nerve-wracking at the time. 

“I went in wanting to just kind of learn how to bake at altitude and also to learn more,” she said. “My very first course was chocolate and confections and my chef was amazing. He saw something in me and was like, ‘Are you sure this is your first course you've ever taken?’" 

Two years later, having bid farewell to her corporate life, she earned an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts and started working at a Denver chocolate shop, where she handled sales and social media and offered input on flavors and new products.

In 2019, because the chocolate shop’s business was struggling financially, they had to let Pensack-Rinehart go. The shop eventually closed. 

That same year, her mother was diagnosed with cancer — a moment that made Liane pause and ask herself, “What am I doing with my life?”

“I really realized that life is too short,” she said. “Turning your passion or your hobby into a career isn't easy. But if you're able to take that chance… you might as well do something now while you will be the youngest you will ever be.”

That was when Colorado Cocoa Pod was born. Today, she serves as both owner and chocolatier, handcrafting chocolates and confections with a focus on Asian-inspired flavors.