A Life Built Around Food and Making Things
Wayne Cezair's interest in cooking started as a teenager, when a chemistry class taught him about starch-to-sugar conversion in onions. That single lesson — understanding the science behind flavour — set the trajectory for everything that followed.
He worked as a chef in Canada and the Caribbean, then became a restaurant and bar owner. In Montreal he opened Cita, where he first introduced Mexican chocolate moles to diners — and fell in love with the depth of cocoa as an ingredient. In Barbados he went on to own Tam's Wok, the Carajay, the Upper Deck, and MaiTai Bar and Bistro. Along the way, he operated a colour separation service bureau, published a Caribbean magazine, and co-founded Yolk Productions, a record label and music production studio in Trinidad.
He was twice nominated for Barbados Entrepreneur of the Year and reached the semi-finals of the Barbados National Innovation Competition. But it was cocoa that pulled him back.
Wayne brought everything he knew — food science, business operations, creative production — into a single focus. He started roasting beans on a baking tray, cracking shells by hand, grinding nibs in a home blender. Every batch taught him something no textbook could: how heat transforms flavour, how moisture ruins a temper, how the difference between good chocolate and great chocolate lives in the smallest details.
The Factory at Gordon Street
Over a decade he worked his way from that kitchen to a full production facility at approximately 23 Gordon Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad — with a smaller operation in Barbados. The company started as a retail and R&D venture for cocoa products, then expanded into Cocoa Pod Products to manufacture the equipment itself.
Not because Wayne wanted to be an engineer, but because the machines he needed either did not exist, cost too much to import, or were designed for European beans that behave nothing like Trinidad Trinitario. He started building his own. And every machine gets tested the hardest way possible — by running real production on it, every single day.
Today Cocoa Pod Products is the only company in the region that manufactures chocolate-processing equipment AND uses that same equipment to produce over 80 finished cocoa products.
Four Single-Estate Sources
Wayne sources beans from four distinct estates across Trinidad, each bringing unique terroir and flavour characteristics to Cocoa Pod products.
Northern Range
Aripo Estate
Nestled in Trinidad's Northern Range, Aripo beans deliver deep, earthy notes with a subtle floral finish — the backbone of many Cocoa Pod blends.
Certified Organic
Bethany Organic
Certified organic estate producing clean, bright beans with pronounced fruit acidity. No pesticides, no shortcuts — just honest farming and exceptional flavour.
Central Trinidad
Cruz Estate
A heritage estate with mature Trinitario trees. Cruz beans bring nutty, malty depth — the kind of complexity that only old-growth cacao can produce.
Northeast Coast
Grande Riviere
Run by Leroy and Geeta Peters. Their beans placed first at the 2019 Salon du Chocolat Paris International Cocoa Awards — voted number one in the world. Bold, complex profiles with dark fruit and spice.
The WINR Invention
Of all the steps in bean-to-bar chocolate, winnowing is the one that separates serious producers from hobbyists. Shell fragments in the final product ruin texture and taste. Industrial winnowers cost tens of thousands of dollars and are built for factory-scale throughput that small Caribbean producers will never need.
Wayne spent years engineering the WINR Winnower — a compact, powerful machine that achieves 99.99% shell separation at a price point accessible to small and mid-size producers. It was born out of necessity: he needed a winnower that actually worked for Trinitario beans, which have different shell adhesion than the Forastero varieties most imported machines are designed for.
The WINR is now the flagship product in Cocoa Pod's equipment line and is used by chocolate makers across the Caribbean. It is the same machine Wayne runs in his own factory, every day.
The Vision
Trinidad and Tobago grows some of the finest cocoa on earth. The Trinitario variety — a natural hybrid born on this island — is prized by chocolate makers worldwide. Yet most of the value is captured abroad. Beans leave the island raw and return as expensive imported chocolate.
Wayne's vision is to make Trinidad and Tobago the Mecca of chocolate in the world. Not by competing with mass-market manufacturers, but by proving that world-class finished products can be made right here — and by putting the tools and knowledge into the hands of other Caribbean producers so they can do the same.
Through the COCOA II initiative, Cocoa Pod is working to spread chocolate profits to the farmers who grow the beans. By building affordable equipment, training the next generation of Caribbean chocolate makers, and running the Caribbean Travelling Film School, Wayne is helping the Caribbean own more of its cocoa value chain. Not someday. Right now.
By the Numbers
What a Decade of Obsession Looks Like
Ready to Work With Us?
Whether you need equipment, wholesale products, or training — Wayne and the Cocoa Pod team are here to help.