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Learn to put more chocolate on a plate!

Given all the chocolate wonderfulness around this week, perhaps you’re feeling inspired to take your skills with it up a level or two. You could read more or you could book on a course and get some hands on experience. Now whether novice, keen amateur or absolute gourmet, then there is something suitable somewhere for you. Here’s a few options:

1. Artisan Chocolate Making at The School of Artisan Food - please Santa, if I am really good, can I go on this in March? It says this is a course for anyone with a desire for real chocolate, so it sounds perfect. You get to work with sweet and savoury flavours, and you get to make chocolate bars and truffles. On top of that, you do so in fantastic surroundings. Worth travelling for!

2. Cooking with Chocolate Masterclass - this is an interesting little gem from one of the gift experience companies, Buy A Gift. This masterclass is with “celebrity” chef Nigel Brown at his home in North Lincolnshire, and you’ll get to create chocolate desserts as well as petit fours and truffles. All this and you get a good lunch too! Sounds like a good foodie gift, and I have used Buy A Gift for other gift experiences which have been delivered to a high standard.

3. Chocolate Delight Workshop – these sound like a bit of a giggle, ideal for a group but less serious from a food perspective. That’s possibly my personal prejudice as it starts with a chocolate fountain. That said, you go onto learn all the skills of truffle making and will leave with around 30 to 50 truffles to enjoy later. You can book direct, or a lot of the gift experience people, such as Red Letter Days and Buy a Gift, offer it as gift options.

4. Atelier Visit and Chocolate Discovery- maybe if Santa doesn’t think I’ve been good enough for the first one, then he could let me spend the day with the team from Artisan du Chocolat. You can travel the atelier and also the journey from bean to bar and bars to chocolates. At £35 this sounds like an absolute bargain and whilst not so much hands-on experience, I would think it was an incredible way to spend a few hours on a Saturday.

So, four very different options, and I would fancy giving them all a go, just for the comparison really. Great courses make a great and unique gift for a foodie at any level of experience. Just try and match their experience to the course! No point sending an advance student on the Chocolate Delight Workshop for example!

Fabulous chocolate image by avlxyz on Flickr.