The Ultimate Masterclass in Taste, Flavour… and of course, Chocolate!

For those of you back from your second summer holidays, firstly we really hope you enjoyed them, and secondly, can we ask a quick question?  If before you went you read a guidebook, watched a movie about the place and/or learnt a few local phrases, did any of these enhance the holiday, make it more fun or give you some unexpected insights?

For most of us, the answer is likely to be positive. A little homework can reap great rewards, prompting a deeper understanding and wonderful memories.

There is a parallel here with craft chocolate (and just about any other artisan food, drink, etc.).  A little “local lingo” and “insider insight” can go a long way.  And it should enhance the fun.

And that’s why we’ve launched our new all day Taste and Flavour Masterclasses, led by Spencer Hyman with Peter McCombie (Master of Wine) and Kate Cavallin (Cacao Latitudes) – see here for more details, and read on for a little more on the logic here too.

The wine industry in Australia, California and even the UK have known this for some time.  That’s why when you visit a winery in Napa or Sonoma, or the Barossa or Margaret River and now Kent or Hampshire you will be offered a lot more than a simple wine tasting.  They will try to entice you with all sorts of experiences.  Indeed Californians have been so successful here that more money is spent by international and local wineries on “wine tours” than anything else – other than Disney.  These wine tours and experiences are designed to be both FUN and education – or “edutaining”.  And you can continue this “edutainment” back home with courses like the WSET and specific courses with your local retailers.

An increasing number of craft chocolate makers have taken a leaf out of this playbook turning a visit into an experience where not only can you taste loads of bars, but you’ll learn to taste .. and learn how to articulate these flavours and tastes.  And it’s fun.  We’ve started to assemble a list of makers offering courses and experiences – see here –  and if you are a subscriber write to us and we’ll try to make a personal introduction too.  But next time you go to Porto, please say hi to Pedro at Vinte Vinte, ditto when in Austria carve out time to visit Julia and Josef Zotter, if in Paris, go and say hi to Nicolas and Sylvie in Plaque – or if further afield, visit Dandelion in San Francisco, Fruition in Woodstock, French Broad in North Carolina, Fu Wan in Taiwan or Mirzam in Dubai.

And we’ve followed suit.  Following the success of holding 1-2 hour online and in person courses for over 5,000 people over the last few years, we’ve responded to the request for a longer course on the world of Taste and Flavour.  The course lasts a day, led by craft chocolate expert Spencer Hyman, and comprises a morning of “theory”, followed by an afternoon of “practice”.  It’s modelled on similar courses in the wine and coffee industries – and indeed it’s partly taught by Peter McCombie, a Master of Wine, and at the London School of Coffee.

The overriding objective of the course is to provide some simple tools, frameworks and insights so you can get even more out of savouring craft chocolate.  Just as swimming is a LOT more fun (and better exercise) if someone teaches you the basic strokes and principles, the same is true for appreciating craft chocolate and indeed all foods (plus once you can focus on “BLIC” – balance, length, complexity and length of flavour you can avoid being “gamed” by Big Food with all their ultra processed food tricks).

To that end, the morning is based on the theory of “taste and flavour” (of course with a little craft chocolate tasting thrown in).  And then in the afternoon you try LOADS and LOADS of Craft Chocolate to put into practise “savouring”, using the insights of the morning to have even more fun.  We do our best not to replicate or “tread on the toes” of makers and growers courses– so we don’t try to run through the intricacies and complexities of fermentation, drying, roasting, etc. Rather it’s about how to put into practice a new skill – like a yoga stance, swimming stroke, new language etc.  And it’s very interactive. So you’ll be encouraged by your fellow students to explore what different flavour journeys you experience – as well as appreciating a few of the critical factors that are generating those flavours for you (e.g., your genetic makeup, your oral microbiome, your mood, past experiences, etc.) as well as the basic principles that enable craft chocolate to have some amazing complexities of flavour (e.g., the role of heat, biochemistry, different sugars, etc.).

We were really, really delighted by the reaction from our first “cohort” – and we’ve included a few testimonials from them on the website. Classes are limited to a maximum of 12 people, and we try to have a maker and/or farmer as a fellow student, as well as enthusiasts from other sectors (so far we’ve had experts and aficionados from coffee, wine, bakery and cheese, and look forward to more).

If you’ve further questions, please check out the website – and /or write directly to me and I’ll try to answer.

We have a final couple of spots left on our next course on Saturday 21st September, and we’ve just added two new dates – 8th November and 30th January. Whether you work in food, you’re an amateur maker or you just really enjoy eating chocolate, we’re looking forward to seeing you there!