[Ed. My Opinion: I wish more people would pay attention to Mars ... in this respect. As Samantha pointed out, they do have an agenda to promote, however blind belief in "70% good" is just plain wrong, IMO. Cocoa content is just one factor that needs to be considered.]
My name is Avinash and I am a farmer from Trinidad. I am looking towards exporting a chocolate block that makes an excellent chocolate drink. Anyone interested please feel free to email me at avinashramnanan@hotmail.com
Casey,
Thanks for adding your thoughts. I live in Belgium and having the flexibility of working on the course without having to worry about time differences, etc. is a real plus. I'm also looking at taking a chocolate course or two here offered by Callebaut. I just figured I should know as much as possible before I start at Callebaut. There courses are just a few days and I'd love to know enough already to ask intelligent questions.
Great idea about the E-Myth book - I've been meaning to read that book anyway.
Bon courage with your business too!
Jeff
Susan,
Thanks so much for writing. As I said to Suzanna it's great to get different people's perspectives on the courses offered by Ecole Chocolat. Seems to me its a good place to start and then branch out from there.
Good luck with your business!
Jeff
Suzanna,
Thanks for sharing your perspective. It's always good to have different points of view about things like this. I hope you found a course that you like better.
Thanks for writing!
Jeff
jeff,
i agree with brad's points re: labor and ingredient costs. i also agree that purchasing equipment can be a huge labor-saver, though the equipment itself is not cheap. yet when you consider that you don't have to pay payroll taxes, the machine can't call in sick (though it can have mechanical issues...), and you can operate the machine at any hour of the day, time-saving equipment like an enrober can reap you big benefits.
i also agree with the other posters whose ecole chocolat experience was a positive one. i was a mid-life career changer with a 2-yr-old and pregnant w/ my 2nd child at the time of taking the ecole course. there was no way i could have accumulated that kind of information on my own given my life circumstances. the ability to practice/test recipes at whatever hour of the day my life afforded, plus not having to do the research on my own, were real advantages to me. i'd already obtained a pastry certification but wanted to delve further into chocolate. and the graduate forum has been a great source of inspiration and advice, much the way this forum has. the camaraderie and support from that group has been so helpful.
one last suggestion is consider reading "the E myth" (the E standing for entrepreneur), as you develop the plan for your business. while its conclusions aren't earth shattering, they do seem to be so often overlooked by entrepreneurs when establishing a business. i have found it to be a good reminder of those things i know i should be doing but haven't yet put into place.
best of luck to you!
casey
I totally agree with susan. I loved the course myself Jeff.
By the way Pam williams was awarded the FCIA outstanding service to the industry this year
Hi, Jeff ~ Brad has given you some very good information to start with. It will at least give you a good idea of numbers.
I have taken the Ecole Chocolat course and am taking the current September Quality Assurance course and I have found their information wonderful to have at your fingertips. I am one of those who believe in the saying "Time is Money" and having an enormous amount of research done for you and supplied to you is incredibly helpful. Could I find that information myself? Of course. Most of us could but, I don't want to spend the time doing it when I could actually be working doing what I love. Ecole is a fantastic place to start. You will be educated as to the basics of the chocolate confectionary business and are supplied with recipes and assignments that all require your participation and research. Never underestimate how great it is to have some of the websites made available to you when you need to do research. It really is a very time intensive course but you can make it work with your schedule.
The articles are not focused on the dates but, rather, on the information provided which has saved me on many an occasion. And yes, like most courses, you will have to purchase a minimum of chocolate gear but they also supply you with discounts from providers.
Suzanne is correct in stating that you can find videos of tempering on YouTube. You can also find many more things about the chocolate world there. But, I now have a clearer idea of what I am looking for and what I want to do. I am more informed and experienced having taken the course at Ecole. In essence, I know what I don't know.
And lastly, the Forum that is comprised of Graduates, working chocolatiers, chocolate makers, large chocolate producers as well as equipment suppliers is a fantastic place to get help from your peers. We all have questions about our craft from time to time or want help "fixing" or "figuring" things. There is a huge range of experience on the Graduate Forum. It is also a wonderful place to check into when you just need a little support or need to share some good news.
I find that this network of support that has been generated by Pam Williams and Ecole Chocolate is something that fits in perfectly for those of us who are looking at career changes and can't travel to go to a brick and mortar school or can't afford it.
A phone call will get you any help you need while taking the course and thi instructors are well known, working and successful Chocolatiers.
I am so sorry that Suzanne did not like the course but, I can tell you that there are probably more of us out here who did.
Best of luck to you.
Susan
Deleted at member's request. January 20, 2012.
I was reading an article recently about some coffee roaster who had just gotten his Q-Grader qualification. This appears to be an independent course / test that establishes how good your coffee palate is. Is there such a thing for chocolate? Would such a thing be useful now that there are now many small bean to bar chocolate operations, not to forget the large number of home brew chocolate makers? Would consumers be impressed if the roaster of their favorite bean to bar manufacturer had such a qualification? Would it make hiring a chocolate roaster easier if they had such a qualification assuming of course the industry becomes big enough for this sort of thing? Would it be useful for cocoa brokers to have such a qualification, so companies could feel more confident in purchasing beans? How would such a test be evaluated, single origin bars, well there are certainly enough bars from the same origin from different manufacturers. Would the test involve tasting the roasted bean or making a micro batch of liquor for evaluation as a drink or directly?
Anyway it is food for thought and I was just thinking out aloud above.
I'm using a 50 mm round disc mold, 12 cellsand depositing with a syringe from a Rev 2. It starts pulling away from the outside and movestowards the center. It leaves a spot, quite nice looking,in the center when I unmold them. I'd like to make that spot bigger.Any ideas would be much appreciated.
I have learned that tempering is not proper term. the right term would be pre-crystallisation, because the stable beeta crystals what we need to have in our chocolate, don't form and line up correctly because of temperature. temperature is not the guarantee of good crystallisation. that is why you don't need to have or watch the thermometer constantly and worry about it. I bet all of you have been in the situation where you have done 'everything right' but the result is not what you wanted. the substance that makes those crystals is cocoa butter and if you just let it cool down on the table or pot, it will be still liquid but when you give it a movement, then it starts to crystallise. there is 3 main things for the proper pre-crystallisation, Time, Temperature, Movement...TTM. that is why the marble is used when doing the pre-crystallisation by hand. it is essential that in short Time you need to lower the Temperature of chocolate while constantly giving the Movement, because this is what gives and lines up the right crystals to the chocolate and when chocolate sample on your knife hardens in 3-5 minutes and has nice sheen, then it is ready. when not enough crystals it will not harden and when too much crystals it will have no sheen. so actually it is not a woo-doo and is more than easy to do pre-crystallisation without any thermometers, when you know and stick to the basic facts. thermometers with the big 'theory' about 'tempering' often just confuses people. try it...it's simple! good luck!
