Connection to Cape Cod

THE MAYO FAMILY LEGACY

IN SEARCH OF GIANTS

Chequessett Chocolate Co-Founder and commerial fisherman Josiah Mayo, follows in the footsteps of Provincetown Fishing Legend: Charlie Mayo Jr.

This short film celebrates our Cape Cod heritage and the legacy of Charles Mayo.

Fisherman & Chocolate Maker

Josiah has been commercially fishing for over 25 years and currently serves as a mate on the J&J under the renowned “tuna whisperer” and Captain Michael Packard (also known for his famous encounter with a humpback whale).

They fish for scallops, bluefin tuna, line caught Atlantic Mackerel, and they also dive for lobster.

Oh yeah, can't forget about the whale...

On Friday, June 12th, 2021 lobster diver and Provincetown native Michael Packard found himself inside the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Provincetown. Packard was on the ocean floor searching for lobsters when the whale dove down and engulfed him in his mouth. Chequessett Chocolate co-founder Josiah Mayo was driving the boat at the time, following the scuba bubbles while searching for his fishing partner and fearing the worst. Suddenly the whale erupted from the ocean, propelling Packard into the air.

A bizarrely improbable incident, Packard’s story captivated the global news cycle and was featured everywhere from CNN to The New York Times. Michael and Josiah even told their story on Jimmy Kimmel Live, recounting their saga to millions of enthralled viewers.

OUR CONNECTION TO THIS PLACE

Fishing, foraging and making chocolate to nourish our community

NOURISHING OUR COMMUNITY

Nestled between ocean and bay at the outermost reaches of Cape Cod, the Chequessett Chocolate team has always derived inspiration and purpose from our relationship to place. Our goal is to make chocolate that reflects this core value. Working together with our friends, our family, and our neighbors, we strive to nourish our community with sustainably sourced, wholesomely delicious chocolate.

CULTURAL LITERARY OF PLACE

Cape Cod’s beauty also appears in a vast library of cultural creations—literary, culinary, musical, and visual. Our contribution to the local food scene is just a small part of the Outer Cape’s vibrant cultural landscape. We belong to a long history of intrepid creators whose productions draw insight from the natural world.

FORAGING TO STAY CONNECTED TO HOME

For many people, the Cape and Islands are a seasonal destination, known for beaches, lobster rolls, and nautical excursions. While summertime brings exciting business, we find that this land brims over with year-round beauty and bounty. A multitude of flora and fauna flourish as the seasons progress. Wild mushrooms flush among coastal dunes and pine woods; blueberries and cranberries ripen on hidden bushes; bay scallops irrupt and wash ashore. We connect to our home by finding these seasonal ingredients in the untrodden places off well trod paths.

OF LAND AND OF SEA

The relationship between cultural richness and natural bounty appears everywhere from the poetry of Mary Oliver to the paintings of Charles Hawthorne: the enchantments of sea, dune, and sky penetrate Cape Cod’s artistry. We carry on the legacy of these creatives, preserving the Cape as one of the inspiring cultural centers of the world.

“The prolonged influence of the land and the sea is another powerful yet unseen influence of this unique area. I say unseen because the casual visitor rarely gets a chance to enjoy the solitude as well as the might of the sea and the dunes. When the dunes have lost their summer sprinkling of humanity, you can lie on a dune with the entire mass of another earth beneath your body and with no focus for the eye in the blue above this side of infinity. In the spring and fall you can stand alone on the great beach pondering the inevitable and eternal tides, sharing the fury of the storms, witnessing the ancient battle of the sea against the land, of the elemental against the emerging and feel that peace of mind and spirit that come from the contemplation of solid and grand ideas and elemental forces.

In my profession, I travel up and down the Cape, but always the road leads at last to Pilgrim Heights and the unsurpassed view of Provincetown cradled in the crescent of sea and land with the Pilgrim Monument standing like a queen surveying her domain. And I always think, ‘Here indeed is a modern golden crescent of creativity and courage, the narrow town with the broad mind still sending forth its constructive and unseen influence into the ideas and ideals of the entire world”

- Excerpt from “The Unseen Provincetown,” an article written in 1966 by William Dearborn Hersey, a longtime Provincetown dweller committed to the preservation of local memory and culture.

GLOBAL CITIZENS

At the confluence of natural bounty and cultural richness, Co-founders Josiah Mayo and Katherine Reed produce Cape Cod Craft Chocolate that is

local in soul and global in scale.

No matter where their cacao adventures take them,

Josiah and Katherine share a deep,

intergenerational commitment to the Outer Cape.

SIXTH GENERATION PROVINCETOWN FISHING FAMILY

We’re honored to carry on Josiah’s family tradition of sustaining Cape Cod’s local food system and nourishing the community with wholesomely delicious fare.

When not making chocolate, Josiah is a sixth generation fisherman out of Provincetown Harbor, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, the famous Cape Cod Tuna Fisherman Charles Mayo.

COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE

Our connection to Cape Cod’s history gives us a sense of purpose. Operating year-round in North Truro—an environment that can be challenging for small businesses—is a testament to our devotion to the Outer Cape community and our commitment to carrying on the tradition set forth by local fishermen and farmers.

We strive to make products for locals and tourists alike, and our café is a gathering place where all are welcome. Since opening the business, we have hosted a food truck in the space outside our café with the intention of building a space for our community to congregate and make memories.

MADE ON CAPE COD

To taste Chequessett Chocolate is to sample a small morsel of our love for the Outer Cape.

Our ingredients may come from far and wide,

but we are, at the core of our identity—

Cape Cod Craft Chocolate