Soft on Chocolate.

As seen in the Wisconsin State Journal, January 12, 1989 · By Sandra Kallio

Espionage, bribery and cutthroat competition are accepted and even encouraged at Persoft, a West Side software developer and employer of 75 chocoholics.

The dirty deeds, all related to Persoft’s chocolate festival, happen right under the nose of the chief executive officer, Ed Harris. And he has a discriminating nose.

“I am the main chocoholic who got this going,” he said. The Chocolate Fest began three years ago as a new competitive attempt to beat the winter blahs, with the staff bringing in chocolate treats every day for a week or so.

“The amateur chocoholics in the company burned out on that,” Harris said. The second year, they only binged once a week for several weeks in a row. “This year we decided to go whole hog.”

“Whole hog” means having a contest from November through January, with each department assigned a Friday afternoon to bring in the best chocolate treats those staff members can make to impress three bribe-loving judges.

“You have to be corrupt to be a judge,” said judge Don Giacchetti, who also happens to be president of the company.

Another corrupt judge who encourages competitors to leave fudge or chocolate cookies on her desk or electronic mail messages complimenting her is Tracy Shinnick, project coordinator for Persoft. Tacked to the wall of her office is an award from one of the two research and development groups in the contest. It includes a chocolate smudge, an emblem of two people shaking hands and the words: “Working to promote hyperactivity . . . and tooth decay for six weeks.”

Another co-worker, just for fun (this is an offbeat group of people) tested Shinnick’s blood sugar level before and after she consumed the massive amount of chocolate required of the judge last Friday. Her insulin level shot up to compensate for the indulgence and her blood sugar level dropped.

Of the entries Shinnick has judged, the “most outrageous” so far was made by Richard Kraus and Susan Whitford on the executive team. They built an 18-inch-high, 2-foot-by-3-foot volcano out of chocolate-dipped popcorn with chocolate lava flowing out of it and chocolate dipped potato chips around the bottom.

Then there was the Egyptian pyramid made out of a mound of chocolate cakes baked by a research and development group; product development’s multimedia event including “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” playing on a videocassette recorder and the members’ recipes flashing on a computer screen; and a research and development group’s La Brea chocolate pit featuring stamped dinosaurs in melted chocolate.

Last Friday, it was the sales departments’ turn to turn out the chocolate. Their strategy, probably reported in advance around the building by spies, was to present a festive New Year’s scene. Decked out in tuxedos and playing classical music on a boom box, they decorated the employees’ lunchroom with colorful streamers, linen cloths and candles. As they put the finishing touches on the scene, a competitor peeked in the doorway, calling the sales people “slime bags.”

Shinnick turned him away, since she and the other two judges had to fill their plates disgustingly full of chocolate before the desserts would be available for public consumption. “Then the horde descends,” she said.

The “horde” on Friday had quite the choice with 15 desserts lined up for their indulgence. Ulrich Henes had baked Oma’s marmorkuchen, a marble cake recipe from his grandmother in Germany; Pat Ackley had made French silk pie and fudge-bottom brownies; Dave Winter cooked his Uncle Bobs fudge recipe and used blocks of fudge to spell IZE, the name of the Persoft program on which the staff is saving the recipes for later publication for employees. Then there was the chocolate egg nog, fondue, truffles, turtles, pecan pie and more.

Judge Giacchetti was impressed with this group’s presentation: “It’s almost off the Richter scale.”

After the last department puts its best chocolate desserts on the line Jan. 20, he, Shinnick and the third judge, Jackie Koeppl, a technical support specialist, will decide which departments gets unspecified awards for categories such as: most unusual but still edible, largest, chewiest, most chocolatey and most caloric.

But Matt Erlandson of the sales group wasn’t concerned about the prizes. “It’s a matter of pride,” he said.