Master Chocolatier Program: Chocolate Making from the Bean for Chocolatiers

The two-month 100% online Chocolate Making from the Bean for Chocolatiers program is about manufacturing your own chocolate from dried cocoa beans. The curriculum covers the whole process from sourcing beans, cleaning, winnowing, roasting, refining, conching and tempering to produce bulk chocolate from which you create your final products.

When I set out to write this program, I realized that I didn't have direct experience with manufacturing chocolate. So what I did was visit and talk to a lot of chocolate manufacturers over the past three years in preparation for this program. I also started from the premise of "if I were going to open a chocolate manufacturing plant, what would I need to know." So the program is the result of that work and I think you will find it very helpful – especially if you've been considering making your own chocolate but didn't know where to start or how much financial/human resources would be needed.

There's a lot of interest in making your own chocolate from the bean, now that a few small manufacturers have started in the U.S. I firmly believe, however, that not all chocolatiers need to make their own bulk chocolate from the bean. As I've said before, that's a little like a restuaranteur deciding he needs to own a slaughterhouse or winery to provide his own meat and wine for his recipes. It's not practical nor financially viable for most of us, as chocolate manufacturing involves a whole new set of skills, issues and equipment. But if you are interested, I think this program will help you to understand what is happening out there, know what is required from an operations perspective and make an intelligent decision one way or another.

Chocolate Making from the Bean for Chocolatiers is an eight-week program. There are two grading modes in the program to enable us to grade your participation and understanding of the key issues.

Tasting Assignments that make up your Participation Grade – 50 points

There are no right or wrong answers on any of the assignments, which are focused on training your palate with individual formal tastings. It's no secret that you can't make good chocolate unless you understand and can identify flavor components in chocolate.You'll be graded on your participation only, with full points for complete and 0 points for incomplete.

Exam: Quality Assurance Proficiency – 50 points

The exam will ask questions taken from the program curriculum. Questions will only be taken from lectures, research, case examples or information pages. The exam uses true/false or multiple choice questions to assess your knowledge of the curriculum.

About the Curriculum

The Chocolate Making from the Bean for Chocolatiers Program curriculum tackles five different topics:

Understanding the chocolate industry

• I've researched and brought together a definitive list of chocolate manufacturing equipment suppliers as well as contacted them for suggested small equipment lines and prices.

Understanding chocolate flavor

• You can't make good chocolate unless you understand and can identify flavor components in chocolate. Topics include:chocolate chemistry and flavor, ingredients that contribute to taste, physiology of taste, and developing your tasting palate.

Sourcing cocoa beans – your most important ingredient

• Cocoa beans can't be bought in bulk at your local grocery store but have to be sourced from specialized distributors and agents so we'll go into much more depth on cocoa bean growing and origin, sourcing consistent suppliers, understanding de-facto organic and free trade issues, ensuring quality and traceability. This is the most important aspect of this business – if you can't find good suppliers of quality beans you can't make quality chocolate.

The chocolate manufacturing process

• You'll develop a good understanding the processes and machinery needed to turn dried cocoa beans into tempered chocolate, as well as good manufacturing practices along with sanitation and food safety.

Formulating your operations plan

• Along with some familiar topic,s we'll explore just how much space and preparation you'll need before the equipment arrives.

Ecole Chocolate Graduate Advantage

As a graduate of the Ecole Chocolat Professional Chocolatier Program, you receive a discounted registration fee for the Chocolate Making from the Bean for Chocolatiers Program. There are a few overlapping lectures in the industry, tasting and operations sections of the curriculum so we felt it was appropriate to offer a discount. This program is scheduled to start in May or Septembert each year, based on demand.