Chocolate modules – live online tutor-led training course (2 mornings)

Benefits of attending

Chocolate product trends are continuously evolving, influenced by changing consumer preferences, health consciousness, sustainability concerns, and innovation in flavours and formats.

In recent years, cocoa prices have experienced fluctuations, influenced by both increased production and rising demand. Long-term trends indicate increased investment in sustainable and ethical cocoa production practices.

These online half day modules are designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the key ingredients in chocolate, including cocoa butter alternatives; key processes that transform raw materials into a chocolate; chocolate in different product applications (such as drinks, bakery products, snacks, etc); key quality parameters, shelf-life specifics, and ensuring safe production practices; product design of vegetarian and vegan chocolate.

Who should attend this course?

Plant Managers, Line Workers, Engineering Teams, Quality Assurance/Control and NPD roles.

The course is delivered live online over the course of two morning (0930 - 1300 hours), participants will be sent log in details for a Microsoft Teams session.

Morning one  – Ingredient technology and first process steps

Understanding the ingredients used in your product and the impact they have on product quality is often the key to achieve reduced costs, resolving quality issues and developing new and innovative products. This ingredient technology module will cover:

• Introduction to chocolate (varieties, taste profiles) and regulatory framework 
• Cocoa butter – chemical composition, process, issues, impact on products 
• Alternatives to cocoa butter
• Cocoa powder  (alkalization, process) 
• Other ingredients: skimmed milk powder, whey protein, sugar, lecithin, PGPR – their role in processing and product quality 
• Vegetarian and vegan chocolate 
• Conching, refining (Bull mill) 

Morning two – Key processes and product quality parameters, applications, shelf life

Understanding and optimising your process is essential to prevent quality faults, reduce waste and ultimately reduce costs. Product quality faults are a common source of wastage and/or customer complaint when chocolate is used. Using a systematic approach to identify and effectively resolve faults can save time and offers an opportunity to build up in-house knowledge that can be utilised to respond to recurring issues this module will cover:

• Tempering and crystallisation – fats, crystal nucleation, polymorph, tempering; temper -meter/ index; fat crystal maturation and storage
• Applications – enrobing, moulding, panning, co-extrusion, etc 
• Product quality parameters of chocolate- descriptors, sensory, analytical measurements (DSC, texture, rheology) 
• Shelf life (fat bloom, sugar bloom, accelerated shelf, etc)
• Troubleshooting
• Quiz

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:-

• Describe the key ingredients used in chocolate, including cocoa butter alternatives, and explain their impact on product quality and performance.
• Explain the fundamental processes in chocolate manufacture—such as refining, conching, tempering and crystallisation—and their influence on final product characteristics.
• Identify and assess quality parameters and shelf-life challenges in chocolate and chocolate-containing products, including fat bloom and sugar bloom.
• Evaluate chocolate applications across different product formats (e.g., bakery, snacks, beverages) and understand how processing choices affect functionality.
• Apply a systematic approach to troubleshooting chocolate production issues to improve quality, reduce waste and support safe manufacturing practices.