Bean to Bar Chocolate Making Workshop

From the venue:

Are you a chef contemplating making your own chocolate? Are you a chocolatier trying to improve your income potential by becoming a chocolate maker? Are you a chocoholic? Do you want to make healthy chocolate? Are you intrigued by the process of converting cocoa beans into chocolate? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, this is the one course you should not miss. Attend the Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop taught by Dr. Darin Sukha and Matthew Escalante. With over two decades of experience in chocolate research, Dr. Darin Ashram Sukha, who has published many papers on the making of chocolate, is the Research Fellow at Cocoa Research Unit at The University of the West Indies. He has worked as a consultant to MARS Global Chocolate and CIAT in Colombia. He teaches a Bean to Bar course in UWI Trinidad and many chocolate makers in central America have started their business by attending his course. Chef Matthew Escalante received his Associate's Degree in Culinary Management in 2009. In 2013, he completed his BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics and worked at the Centre for the Development of Enterprise, completing chef to chef intensive training in chocolate. In 2014, he completed CRC training in Cocoa Sensory Evaluation. He is the winner of The W. E. Freeman Prize for the best undergraduate final year project in cocoa.

CocoaTown's Chocolate Making Workshop runs from November 2- November 4. Classes will begin at 9 am each day and end at 5 pm with a one hour lunch break.

Day 1 begins with an overview of the chocolate making process. You will begin chocolate making by performing a quality assessment of cocoa beans and learning to sort, weigh, and select beans. Next, you will learn to roast, de-shell, and grind the cocoa beans. This will give you the knowledge and skills you need to turn cocoa beans into great chocolate.

On Day 2, you will learn about the addition of sugar, chocolate conching, tempering, and moulding. This process turns cocoa beans into the chocolate you know and love. In the afternoon, you will go on a field trip to a chocolate factory to see where the magic happens and learn some of the nuances of chocolate tasting.

On the 3rd and final day of the workshop, you will finish tempering and molding your chocolate and get a taste of the business side of chocolate making, such as the essentials for a chocolate making facility and how to prepare business plans. Maintenance of the machines is critical for uninterrupted production. On Day 3, you will receive instruction on machine maintenance. At the end of the course, you will walk away with comprehensive knowledge on starting your chocolate making business and a certificate of completion for the course.

Join the scores of chocopreneurs from the earlier workshops! If you have any additional questions, please call us at (770) 587-3000 or email us at info@cocoatown.com.