- 1 day
- Thu 20 Mar 2025
- 10:00am - 6:00pm
- Louth, Lincolnshire, UK, United Kingdom
- £225
Foundation level course in Chocolate Tasting.
In person classroom course from our UK based IICCT school.
An exciting new opportunity to study in person for your Level 1, in the market town of Louth, a traditional foodie destination in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The teaching team will be led by IICCT Teacher and Chocolate Educator Kathryn Laverack and the course will be delivered at her recently launched teaching and tasting venue in the town centre. Louth is also just a short drive away from Duffy’s Chocolate factory and there is a visit organised on Friday 21st March that can be booked alongside the course program.
You can travel to Louth by car, bus or train, the nearest railway stations are Grimsby Town, and Market Rasen. Contact Kathryn for any pre-booking enquiries and information on the venue, public transport options, parking and accommodation: cocoaencounters@gmail.com.
For general location information visit: https://lovelincolnshirewolds.com/louth
Early Bird price: £200 (bookings received before 30th December 2024)
The course fee includes £50 for registration with our UK-based accreditor, FDQ for Level 1 and issue of an official Ofqual (UK Government) approved certificate for the “FDQ Level 1 Foundation Award in Chocolate Tasting”, should you pass the assessment. Retakes will be charged at 85€ (incl. VAT) and will be taken online.
Lunch is provided. Please let us know of any dietary requirements.
Please note: the venue for this in-person course is situated on the second floor of a Victorian building, which does not have a lift. Please contact the Course Provider for a full Accessibility Statement for the venue.
The IICCT Reasonable Adjustments or Special Considerations Policy is available to download here.
Level 1
Level 1 Chocolate Tasting lays the sensory foundation for your journey as a Chocolate Taster, introduces chocolate making in the fine and craft chocolate world, and takes you through where cacao comes from and how it is produced.
During the course you will experience the sensory elements used in chocolate tasting through a series of tasting games and experiments and you will practice using a formal approach to chocolate tasting.
The Foundation course is designed to run over a single day workshop, as three evening class sessions or as three online webinar sessions plus self-study. Level 1 course provides a good grounding in chocolate tasting and includes tasting of 9 or more different origin or blended fine dark chocolate bars, tasted in different forms for an understanding of aroma, length, texture and taste. The chocolate tasted includes examples of well made craft chocolate origins and examples of defects and industrial production.
The course finishes with a 30 question multiple choice exam based on the course content. Certificates will be issued upon achieving a pass mark.
- Training the chocolate senses
- Taste and explore flavour in fine chocolate
- Introduction to the origins and varieties of cacao
- Overview of how cacao is produced
- How fine or craft chocolate is made
- How cocoa butter and cocoa powder are made
- Taste and recognize flaws in chocolate
- A look at direct sourcing of cacao
- Study booklet
- Certificate for exam passes
- All the chocolate and sensory samples you will need*
This course will be ideal for you if you:
- Love chocolate, and want to know more about its flavour and origins
- Are a chocolate maker who wants to expand their sensory skills
- Are an educator or events organiser looking for more information to pass on to your audience
- Work in the catering/pastry/fine chocolate industries
- Want to improve your clients’ experience of chocolate you are working with
- You are considering launching a fine chocolate business
- You want to buy a fascinating and unique gift for someone
- You want to see just how good your palate is for chocolate