Chocolatiers from T&T recently participated in a Master Class in Chocolate Making.

In addition to this country, the event hosted chocolatiers from Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada.

Hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the four-day workshop which was championed by Chef Régis Bouet, a renowned chocolatier with 30 years experience as Research and Development Director of the French chocolate maker Weiss and a finalist of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier confiseur.

The FAO says participants gained an understanding of how quality is interconnected throughout the cocoa value chain, while developing an enhanced sense of taste, aroma and value-added products of chocolate.

They also learned critical procedures and stages of roasting, use of cocoa butter and perfecting the art of the pre-crystallization process and understanding factors impacting taste and shelf life for high quality chocolate.

Participants also learnt the science behind making ganache, panning techniques and different recipes for quality value-added products.

According to the International Cocoa Organization, the relatively small share of fine flavour cocoa world exports is estimated at approximately 12% – Latin America and the Caribbean being the main exporting region, accounts for 90% of the world exports.