Experience a Chocolate Making Course in Peebles

Cocoa Black Workshop Teaches Creating Your Own Gourmet Truffles

Jul 22, 2009

Ruth Hinks worked with Michelin-starred chefs and now lets chocolate lovers experience a chocolate making course at her company Cocoa Black in Peebles, Scotland.

Ruth Hinks is an experienced chocolate maker who has worked with star chefs like Albert Roux, and won gold and silver medals at the Culinary Olympics. Now she shares her chocolate-making skills and secrets on courses she runs at the Chocolate and Patisserie School at her own new company, Cocoa Black. Cocoa Black is based in the beautiful town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders.

On Course for Chocolate Making

Ruth's first experience making chocolates came when she was still a child. She wanted to buy a cassette tape player with a twin tape deck, and her father suggested she do something to earn the money herself. Ruth has always loved chocolate so she decided to make some chocolates and sell them. This she did, and sold the chocolates in her father's waiting room: he was a dentist.

Ruth Hinks's Chocolate Experience

As well as working for the Michelin-starred chef Albert Roux, Ruth has worked at the London Hilton, the Observatory Hotel in Sydney, and at the Spittal of Glenshee Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland. She was also Head Pastry Chef at the 5-star Windsor Hotel in Melbourne. She was the Australian Pastry Chef of the Year in 2002, and in 2004 Ruth won one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals at the Culinary Olympics. That all adds up to a fine chocolate-making pedigree.

Courses at the Chocolate and Patisserie School

In addition to seasonal courses like how to make your own Easter chocolates, there are several regular courses available on demand:

An Introduction to Chocolate Making Course

The most popular way to get into the experience of chocolate making is to take the introductory course. This takes 2-3 hours and begins with some basics about working and cooking with chocolate, like the fact that the cooking chocolate found in stores is not good for making quality chocolates. 'It has a lot of fat in it,' says Ruth, whose favorite brand of chocolate is Callebaut, a Belgian chocolate. 'You can buy it online or in specialist food suppliers,' Ruth explains. 'It can be bought in small quantities for the home chef, like 2.5kgs, and it is also great for putting in chocolate chip cookies! Stored properly it will keep for a year.'

On to the Chocolate Making Experience

A hands-on approach to chocolate making is what this course is all about. Three types of chocolate are made, although the choices might vary from course to course. On this occasion, they are a Dark Chocolate and Orange Ganash, Milk and Dark Chocolate Truffles, and Praline Squares.

Learning Chocolate Making

'You can't rush chocolate,' Ruth explains from the start. 'You need patience to make good chocolates.' The chocolate has to be tempered. Tempering means bringing it up to the right working temperature so that when it cools it cools to the right hard consistency, with a slight sheen to it. This is why when chocolate melts inadvertently, perhaps on a hot day, it can cool down to have a dull and rather greasy look and feel to it – not what you want in luxury chocolates!

The chunks of Callebaut chocolate are molten, tempered, mixed with the appropriate filling, allowed to cool and then cut into bite-sized squares using a steel ruler and a sharp knife, which has to be both hot and wet. These chocolate centers are then dipped into molten dark or milk chocolate, allowed to cool a little, and then decorated. This can include the fascinating process of applying transfers, which leave behind an edible colored design when later peeled off.

Chocolate Making at Home

At the end of the course, which is relaxed and great fun with many tasting opportunities along the way, everyone goes home not only with the skills acquired but also with about 25 hand-made gourmet chocolates. Everything learned at the Cocoa Black Chocolate School can be repeated at home, though some cooks may need to buy a small amount of specialist equipment, such as a digital thermometer, which is not expensive.

Cocoa Black Contact Details

The copyright of the article Experience a Chocolate Making Course in Peebles in Scotland Travel is owned by Mike Gerrard. Permission to republish Experience a Chocolate Making Course in Peebles in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.