生存必殺技

????14年前，卡特里娜?馬爾可夫在芝加哥開設了第一家Vosges Haut巧克力店。此后，她的巧克力憑借咖喱、軟奶酪和培根口味等各種創新口味的組合迅速占領了大批巧克力店的柜臺。目前，Vosges在包括全食超市（Whole Foods）在內的3,000家商店銷售；此外，主打低價優勢的新品牌Wild Ophelia則在沃爾格林連鎖店（Walgreens）等商店銷售。無論是遠赴瑞士購買設備，還是在洛杉磯新成立的巧克力實驗室開展研究，現年39歲的馬爾可夫自有一套自己的旅行法則。

酒店只選最酷的

????去洛杉磯出差時，我通常會住在Shutters酒店或馬赫皇家酒店（Casa del Mar）。我喜歡流連于沙灘。而在芝加哥是一種純粹的都市生活，大部分時間，我待在辦公室工作。所以當我出行時，我喜歡親近大自然。它有助于清醒頭腦，使我的思維更具創造性。

提前規劃飲食

????我常常在出行前對飲食做個規劃。我有滿滿一柜子的雜志剪報，里面介紹了許多我曾經去過或希望去的美食圣地，它們可以給我提供很好的建議。比如，每次前往紐約，我都會去吃下東區Apizz餐廳的意大利菜，而且喜歡在蘇豪區的Despa?a Vinos y Ma購買葡萄酒。

舒舒服服做個SPA

????如果有空閑時間，我就會用來做spa。邁阿密的文華東方酒店（Mandarin Oriental）有一家非常不錯的spa中心。在那里，我能享受到最令人放松的臉部按摩。在我出行時，我喜歡尋找能讓人徹底放松的環境。我非常喜歡這種放松心靈的方法。

讓孩子保持安靜

????我經常帶兩歲大的兒子羅翰一起出行。他白天還習慣睡兩次覺，所以我盡量預訂上午10點和下午2點左右的機票，這兩個時間段正是他睡覺的時候，而我就可以處理工作。另外，我會在目的地城市朋友的幫助下，物色育嬰保姆。

攜帶生活必需品

????出差時，我總會帶一款無毒的MyChelle面霜，來保持肌膚的水分。另外，我身邊總帶著巧克力。如果旅途中有人問道我：“你是做什么的？”我覺得我應該讓他們嘗嘗我的巧克力。每次旅行，我都能輕松地送出15塊巧克力。

????譯者：喬樹靜/阿龍

Survival skills

????In the 14 years since Katrina Markoff opened her first Vosges Haut-Chocolat store in Chicago, her product's innovative flavor combinations -- think curry, taleggio, and bacon -- have paved the way for an army of chocolate shops. Vosges is now sold in 3,000 stores, including Whole Foods; a new lower-priced brand named Wild Ophelia sells in places like Walgreens. Whether she is traveling to Switzerland to buy equipment or to a new chocolate laboratory in Los Angeles, Markoff, 39, has her rules for the road. A sampler:

Stay at cool hotels???

????In L.A., often I'll stay at Shutters or Casa del Mar. I like being on the beach. Living in Chicago is such an urban experience, and much of my time is spent at the office, so when I travel, I like to be near nature. It clears my mind and lets me think creatively.

Plan your meals

????I like to plan my meals before a trip. I refer to a file cabinet full of magazine clips of cool places I have been to or want to visit. Like whenever I'm in New York, I love to eat Italian at Apizz on the Lower East Side -- and shop for wine at Despa?a Vinos y Mas in SoHo.

Take spa breaks

????If I have time, it's all about the spa for me. There's an amazing one at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami. I got the most relaxing facial there. When I travel, I like to find a place that has a pampering environment. I really get into that mental take-care-of-yourself thing.

Keep kids peaceful

????My 2-year-old son, Rohan, usually travels with me. He's still on a two-naps-a-day schedule, so I try to book my flights around 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. so he sleeps -- and I can get work done. I find babysitters through friends in the city I'm traveling to.

Bring the essentials

????I always bring this great nontoxic MyChelle face cream when I travel, to keep my skin hydrated. And I always have chocolate on hand. When fellow travelers ask, "What do you do?" I feel like I have to give them chocolate. I can easily hand out 15 bars on a trip.