Chocolate Workshop

Chocolates in progress

My sister and I received gift certificates at Christmas to attend a chocolate workshop run by Boston Chocolate Tours.  We were so excited to go and then she managed to get sick the night before the class.  Bummer.  Luckily, my cousin was able to take the workshop with me on Saturday.

It was so much fun.  The first half of the workshop was a lecture on where cocoa comes from, how it's processed, how to temper chocolate and make ganache.  It's amazing how many good things about chocolate were discovered by accident.  I will be applying what I learned to my annual Easter candy making this year!

Chef Dorian was a character and bona fide chocoholic.  He greeted us at the door, decked out in more piercings than I could count, inviting us to grab a mug of hot chocolate and take a seat.  He was passionate about chocolate and food (if it has an "x" in the ingredients, it's not a food - throw it out).  He was very entertaining and had so many amazing stories to tell.  The time just flew by.

The second half of the class was hands-on.  Yum.  We made truffles based on three different types of filling:  dark chocolate raspberry, milk chocolate and chocolate caramel.  We also did a trio of molded chocolates.  We could dip and decorate them as we pleased.  The little girls that sat behind us were quite creative.  One of them painstakingly poked in bits of toasted coconut into one of her truffles; it looked like a hedgehog.  I attempted to roll my truffles in toffee bits, chocolate nibs and toasted coconut.  I've never had luck coating truffles in anything other than powdered sugar and cocoa.  I had hoped this time would be different.  No such luck.  But they tasted delicious.

Dipping into moving chocolate was an adventure.  I lost my truffle center more than once and had to fish it out.  I would love to have one of these dipping machines - but there's no way I could justify the cost for the twice-a-year use.  But I can dream.

The class wasn't cheap.  However, I had a wonderfully entertaining afternoon, then returned home with a bunch of information (including recipes and several web sites to purchase supplies) and a pound box of chocolates I made myself.  I would certainly recommend this workshop to anyone who enjoys chocolate.