Chocolate first came about in Mesoamerica over 4,000 years ago and since then has become a household favorite all over the world.
Turning chocolate from cocoa beans into the products you find on store shelves is a multi-step process.
Chocolate makers have the task of turning cocoa beans into chocolate, while chocolatiers take that chocolate and create truffles, bonbons, and other confectionery.
It used to be that aspiring chocolate makers and chocolatiers could only learn their trade by attending a culinary school.
Thanks to the internet, online classes have offered access to more students than ever.
Whether you want to make chocolate treats as a hobby or plan to pursue chocolate as a profession, there’s a chocolate class for you.
Chocolate and Confectionary by World Pastry Champion – APCA International Pastry & Culinary School
This Udemy course is an excellent option for those looking to get a feel for the chocolatier career path.
Created by the Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts (APCA), you’ll learn ten different chocolate and confectionery recipes, including advanced ganaches.
Included in the course are three and a half hours of on-demand video, ten downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion. This class currently sits at 4.9 stars.
Basic Praline & Chocolate Making Class for Beginners by APCA International Pastry & Culinary School
Beginners are encouraged to join this basics class from the Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts. You’ll learn all about chocolate, from how to temper melted chocolate to ganaches and fillings.
This course goes over several techniques and provides nine recipes like milk chocolate truffles and mint bonbons.
Whether you’re making chocolates as a hobby or looking to turn chocolate making into your career, this class is a great foundation.
It comes with two hours of on-demand video, eight downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion.
Reviews frequently mentioned that the class was easy to understand and follow at your own pace, contributing to the class’s 4.8-star rating.
Chocolate Masterclass by Robert Wedderburn & Sandy Gomezcuello
This MasterChef chocolate masterclass is geared toward chocolatiers of all levels of experience.
You’ll learn a wide variety of chocolate techniques, including tempering chocolate, dipping in chocolate, making ganaches, and creating chocolate decorations.
With this course, you’ll get an hour and a half of on-demand video, 27 downloadable resources, full lifetime access, and a certificate of completion.
Reviewers raved about this class, mentioning how easy it was to understand, how engaging instructor Sandy Gomezcoello is, and how much they learned. This class currently has 4.7 stars on Udemy.
Texture Design with Chocolate by Kia Utzon-Frank
Discover how to temper, color, and flavor chocolate to make mouthwatering terrazzo, marble, and concrete textures.
When combined with chocolate, design becomes visual, tactile, and flavorful.
Kia Utzon-Frank, a multidisciplinary designer, creates unique flavors and textures inspired by architectural surfaces through her chocolate design studio BRIK Chocolate.
Discover how to put your creative ideas into action by designing chocolate textures. Make your own flavors, mix colors, and, most importantly, enjoy your unique confections.
This course will teach you how to create three different chocolate textures inspired by architectural materials, then cast a mold around a chosen object to make unique flavored chocolate.
Vegan & Raw Chocolate Making by Sue Frisby
Vegans and those requiring a dairy-free diet are the target audience for this raw chocolate-making class, but anyone is welcome to join.
Like many other classes, this one focuses on fundamentals like tempering chocolate but also focuses on using raw and vegan chocolate.
You’ll learn more about raw and vegan chocolate and get plenty of recipes using quality ingredients and techniques to put into practice.
Purchasing this course gives you access to two and a half hours of on-demand video, six downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion.
If you enjoy this course, instructor Sue Frisby offers a level two for this course. Reviewers on Udemy enjoyed learning about raw chocolate and gave the course 4.7 stars.
Chocolate To Bar Online Live Course by Melissa Coppel’s Chocolate School
In this online class taught by Chocolate Chef Daisuke Yamanouchi, you will learn how to source the best beans from various origins, followed by roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, and finally tempering the chocolate.
Following that, the online class will demonstrate a variety of applications for all types of chocolate, including the creation of bars, molded bonbons, and enrobed bonbons.
Chef Daisuke Yamanouchi will also share his personal experience with starting your own business and implementing a successful small-scale artisan Bean-to-Bar production.
Easy Chocolate Making: All the Basics from Bean to Bar by Peter Gray and Nate Hodge
If you’re interested more in the chocolate-making side of the industry, this chocolate-making basics class is the perfect place to start.
The course is only a half-hour, but you’ll learn everything there is to know about making chocolate bars, from choosing the right cocoa beans to grinding and tempering.
Raaka Chocolate, an organic chocolate factory, created this half-hour course.
Reviews are generally positive, with reviewers mentioning how clear and well-explained the lessons were.
Raw Chocolate: How To Make Your Own Chocolate From Unroasted Cacao by Sue Frisby
“Chocomama” Sue Frisby offers raw chocolate courses on both Udemy, as listed above, and Skillshare.
The Skillshare class covers all the key points of her Udemy course, such as making raw, vegan chocolate from scratch using raw cacao bean, tempering the chocolate, and the best ways to use the chocolate.
Chocomama’s Skillshare class contains seven lessons totaling about 45 minutes. You’ll be assigned a final project: to make maple-candied orange with your chocolate.
This course is a great option if you want a quick overview of raw chocolate.
Professional Chocolatier Program by Ecole Chocolat
If your dream is to become a professional chocolatier, but you aren’t able to take classes on campus at a culinary institution, this Professional Chocolatier Program through Ecole Chocolat is the perfect replacement.
While this course is for aspiring professional chocolatiers, it’s suitable for beginners.
In these chocolate classes, you’ll learn all about chocolate crystallization and tempering, dive into the chemistry of chocolate, and practice working with chocolate recipes.
You can also receive assistance in creating a business plan for your budding chocolate business.
The Professional Chocolatier Program lasts three months and is 100% online.
It’s a part-time program, and there are no set class times, so you can work your studies around the rest of your life.
While the professional school’s program is more expensive than the ones on Udemy and Skillshare, it’s also much more intensive.
Students will receive an Ecole Chocolat Certificate of Achievement upon completing this course with a grade of 70% or higher.
Chocolate Making from the Bean by Ecole Chocolat
If your career goals lean more towards chocolate making rather than becoming a chocolatier, Ecole still has you covered.
For students who want to become professional chocolate makers but are unable to attend on-campus classes, they offer their Chocolate Making from the Bean program.
The course will teach you everything you need to know about cocoa beans, from cocoa sustainability and social justice to the different sources and post-harvesting processes.
You’ll also learn about chocolate chemistry and flavor and the manufacturing process. Like the chocolatier course from Ecole, there is also an optional business plan module.
The chocolate-making course is run similarly to the chocolatier course in that it’s 100% online and students will receive an Ecole Chocolat Certificate of Achievement if they finish the course at or above 70%. However, this is a two-month course.
Classic Milk Chocolate Tablets By Philippe Vancayseele (Chocolate Academy)
This Classic Milk Chocolate Tablets course is a simple, straightforward course perfect for beginners.
You’ll learn some chocolate making process fundamentals while crafting one of the most popular chocolate sweets in the world: the chocolate bar.
Philippe Vancayseele, head of the Chocolate Academy center, teaches this course to make homemade milk chocolate.
It’s one of Chocolate Academy’s trial courses, and at only four minutes long is a great course to start with as you decide if a subscription to the Chocolate Academy’s online chocolate classes is right for you.
Introduction to Tempering Chocolate by Russ Thayer
Tempering chocolate is one of the most fundamental and most important things you need to know to be a chocolatier.
For those just starting, Introduction to Tempering Chocolate is a simple overview of the chemistry behind tempering chocolate and techniques to do it perfectly every time.
Introduction to Tempering Chocolate is taught by Russ Thayer, an experienced pastry chef. He currently holds the position of Lead Chef for the Chocolate Academy Online.
This beginner course is five minutes long.
2 months Online Chocolatier Course by Egor Kozlovsky
Egor team is an online pastry school program.
They accept students of all ages and from across the world. This site offers several courses, including pastry basics, macaroons, and eclairs.
Their Path of a Chocolatier program is a two-month online course for beginners through experienced pastry chefs.
You’ll gain access to 30 different on-demand videos covering all aspects of chocolate, from tempering to bonbons to decorating.
Chocolate Tempering and Chocolate Bonbons Recorded Class by The Valrhona Chocolate School
Learn all about the basics of chocolate with this Chocolate Tempering and Chocolate Bonbons class.
You’ll not only get a rundown on chocolate tempering, but you’ll learn how to decorate bonbons and create a full display of confections.
Two of Valrhona’s top award winning chefs, Derek Poirier and Guillaume Roesz, lead this 90-minute class.
Included in the purchase of this class are a recipe book and coupon for your next online purchase through Valrhona (a well known name in the fine chocolate industry).
Valrhona is a fine chocolate company producing cocoa powder, covering chocolate, cocoa liquor, melted cocoa butter and more. They are based out of Tain L’Hermitage, France.
Their L’Ecole Valrhona school offers multiple online classes for those interested in the art of chocolate.
You can attend the private classes live or purchase recorded lectures to watch at your leisure.
Panning and Chocolate Treats Recorded Lesson by The Valrhona Chocolate School
This course focuses on making bite-sized chocolate snacks. Chocolate panning is a method of coating small morsels, such as nuts or dried fruit, in chocolate.
You’ll learn the process of panning, different panning techniques you can use to achieve different looks or textures, and receive a recipe book.
Derek Poirer also leads this course, and the class runs for 90 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most common questions regarding online chocolate making classes.
Sources
- Beckett, S.T., 1994. Traditional chocolate making. In Industrial chocolate manufacture and use (pp. 1-7). Springer, Boston, MA.
- Visioli, F., Bernaert, H., Corti, R., Ferri, C., Heptinstall, S., Molinari, E., Poli, A., Serafini, M., Smit, H.J., Vinson, J.A. and Violi, F., 2009. Chocolate, lifestyle, and health. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 49(4), pp.299-312.
- Jewett, S., 2017. Artisan chocolate making. Beckett’s Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use, eds. ST Beckett, MS Fowler, and GR Ziegler, pp.456-478.
- Leissle, K., 2017. “Artisan” as Brand: Adding Value in A Craft Chocolate Community. Food, Culture & Society, 20(1), pp.37-57.
- Chocolate Making at Home 101 – Chocolate Alchemy
- How To Become A Chocolatier – Food & Wine
- The Chocolate Industry – International Cocoa Organization
- Fine Chocolate Industry Association
Conclusion
These online chocolate making classes will help you understand the basics of the craft, provide you the tools to start your own journey, learn at your own pace and make your own homemade chocolate or even become a master chocolatier.
Feel free to share information about any online courses or live class we might have missed.
