The meaty chocolatier: Two stories of life after law

Two lawyers are walking down a yummy path
Two lawyers are walking down a yummy path

photo by Ariel OThe just released March 2011 issue of Toronto Life contains profiles by Denise Balkissoon — accompanied by photos by long-time Precedent photographer Daniel Ehrenworth — of two lawyers who turned their backs on Bay Street careers to open specialty food boutiques:

  • Tim English, owner of The Chocolateria on Roncesvalles, started his legal career at Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti and says he was making $250,000 per year by the time he left his job as in-house counsel at Direct Energy in 2009. After a location misstep, he opened at his current location and has since become known for his chocolate-covered potato chips and other unique cocoa creations. “As a lawyer, your interactions with people aren’t always happy,” he says. “Now I go home every day with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.”
    (Watch for more on Tim and The Chocolateria in the forthcoming issue of Precedent.)
  • As co-owner of The Healthy Butcher (Queen West, and on Eglinton near Avenue Road), Mario Fiorucci is dedicated to selling locally sourced, high-quality meat. But in a past life, he pulled down $140,000 per year at McCarthys, where he specialized in high-tech companies. “I didn’t hate my job,” he tells Toronto Life, “but I didn’t enjoy it. I wasn’t maximizing my talents.”

Photo by Ariel O