Self-confessed chocaholic, KRISTYN MASLOG-LEVIS writes about one of her best experiences – ever.

Chocolates

Chocolates


Photo by Kristyn Maslog-Levis

I am a master chocolatier – well, an aspiring one anyway.

My husband gave me a chocolate making class gift voucher for Christmas and took it recently. It was one of the best four hours of my life, and it didn’t even feel that long.

The voucher claimed the chocolate making class is “the complete indulgence for any chocolate lover!” And it’s absolutely correct. It starts with a brief discussion about chocolate including the difference between real chocolate (couverture) and compound chocolate. Our master chocolatier, Joseph, explained that “normal” chocolates are made the way they are so that they have  more shelf life. However, gourmet chocolates is only good for six to eight weeks (which isn’t a problem in my household since it won’t last two weeks).

You get hands-on experience on how real chocolate is made and you leave the class with a ton of it in a box! With Joseph’s guidance, students make the ganache (the centre of the chocolate) using a flavour of your choice – you choose from several including; orange, vanilla, coffee, rum, cognac, chilli and more.

After making the ganache, you have a choice of various finishes for your truffles from hundreds of thousands, coconut, coco, coffee and ground nuts. You also learn how to use chocolate moulds and how to coat your ganache using their coating machine. No machine at home? Not to worry, they also teach you how to do it using a fork or a toothpick.

We successfully made chocolate ganache and now I can confidently say I can make it at home. Unfortunately, there is a downside to this chocolate-making thing – I can never look back now.

Alas, nothing else satisfies me anymore but gourmet chocolates. What a snob, you say. Well, coffee drinkers find it hard to sip cheap coffee after having a really good one. And it’s the same with wine connoisseurs, foodies and so on – apparently, this is quite normal.
Now, finding a gourmet chocolate shop won’t be a problem anymore because I can make them myself. Imagine that!

The class was informative and funny, which is ideal for chocoholics. I was in my element, and among my people. So, if you love chocolates and want an endless supply of quality chocolates, take this class – just be prepared for the sugar high.

Chocolate orange ganache anyone?

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