Confectioner - Career Advice - Manufacturing and Production

Manufacturing & Production

Confectioners mix, shape and cook chocolates, toffees and other sweets and lollies. They undertake many of the individual steps in the process of cooking and creating confectionery such as weighing and mixing ingredients, combining, dissolving or boiling them, and coating confectionery in chocolate. Future Growth Strong Confectioners may also ensure that production equipment is properly cleaned and maintained. They control the temperature of pressure cookers, check the consistency of products during the cooking process, and check the details of production schedules to make sure the right quantities are made.

Putting on touches

ANZSCO description: 831113: Operates machines and performs routine tasks to make and wrap confectionery.

Alternative names: Chocolatier, Confectioner, Candy maker, Confectionery Maker,

Knowledge, skills and attributes

A confectioner needs:

a passion for chocolates, sweets and other forms of confectionery
good hand-eye coordination
the ability to stay on their feet for extended periods
to be able to work as part of a team
the ability to undertake detailed and intricate work
to maintain a high level of hygiene and be health and safety conscious.

Duties and Tasks

Confectioners may perform the following tasks:

examine production schedules to determine confectionery types and quantities to be made
check the cleanliness and operation of equipment before beginning production
weigh, measure, mix, dissolve and boil ingredients in pans
operate equipment that refines and tempers chocolate
assist with coating chocolate bars and preparing chocolate products
control temperature and pressure in cookers used to make boiled sweets, starch-moulded products, caramels, toffees, nougat and chocolate centres
operate equipment to compress sugar mixes into sweets
check batch consistency using a stainless steel spatula or measuring equipment such as a refractometer
sort and inspect finished or partly finished products.

Working conditions

Most confectioners work full time. Senior confectioners provide on-the-job training to junior employees and coordinate work in a team environment. Confectioners usually work for confectionery manufacturers in large factory environments, but may also work in smaller, boutique confectionery shops or factories. They may be required to stand for extended periods, and their work is often repetitive. As confectioners work with food, their workplace is required to be sterilised and cleaned regularly. They are required to follow strict health and safety guidelines. They usually do shift work, which may include weekends and public holidays.

Tools and technologies

Confectioners operate confectionery manufacturing and processing machinery such as boilers, baling presses, compressors, conveyor driven machinery, and storage silos, tanks and bins. They may also operate jar filling systems or wrapping machines. Confectioners may also operate industrial kitchen equipment such as ovens and cookers, deep fryers, steamers and mixers, as well as regular kitchen appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators. They may also operate laboratory equipment such as sonic and water baths, chemstations, stirrers and centrifuges. They are usually required to wear safety equipment.

Education and training/entrance requirements

To become a confectionery maker you usually need to complete a traineeship in food processing. The traineeship takes 24 months to complete.

Manufacturing & Production

A chocolatier is a chocolate maker. They create a variety of chocolate confections, such as chocolate truffles, bonbons, chocolate bars, chocolate-covered fruit, and more. Their clients may be individuals or companies who want unique, branded chocolate products, such as golf-club shaped chocolate lollipops for a country club or customized chocolate pillow mints for a luxury hotel. Future Growth Strong

A chocolate maker is the one responsible for creating chocolate from scratch; they’re involved at the very beginning of what’s often called the from-bean-to-bar process.

Chocolatiers, on the other hand, experiment with chocolate and other ingredients to make mouth-watering and fancy creations like truffles, bonbons and ganache.

A chocolatier is a specialized chef who creates candies and confections from chocolate, and their work revolves around choosing between varieties of chocolates and accessory ingredients and creating finished candies of all types and sizes.

Chocolatiers have a job that is intricate in nature. They typically work in the kitchen with many different styles and types of chocolate, and are very picky about the building blocks for the candies they create. An additional complication is that different types of chocolate have different properties; they may melt at different temperatures or harden at different times, and some may blend well while others are best left as stand-alone ingredients. A good chocolatier must keep all of these concerns in mind when creating their food.

Chocolatiers may spend time creating candies of their own conception, but often fill either regular orders (for dessert menus or pre-selected assortments) or customer-specific orders. In the latter case, customers typically speak one-on-one with the chocolatier and the chef helps guide the customer through possible selections that may suit his/her needs.

Put simply, a chocolatier can be defined as someone who makes and sells confectionery made from chocolate. They may be responsible for the whole process from start to finish, from devising a recipe, through to making the product, and finally packaging, displaying and selling. They may be salaried or self-employed and can become a Master Chocolatier once they have acquired the relevant skills and experience. They may work in a specialist chocolate shop, whether artisanal, independent or part of a worldwide group, or indeed as part of a professional kitchen or at the production facilities of a chocolate manufacturer.

ANZSCO ID: 831113

Alternative names: Chocolate maker,

Specialisations: Chocolate Maker, Artisanal entrepreneur, Sommelier, Chocolate historian, Chocolate taster, Chocolate consultant

A chocolate taster is trained to analyze the flavor of the chocolate, check the aroma and inspect for flaws. When you go for an interview, you may have to undergo a blind taste test to identify the flavors and ingredients of different chocolates. This is usually something that comes with practice, which is why experience is so valuable.
Chocolatiers create and decorate handmade confectionery. It’s a skill that requires much patience and usually comes with plenty of hands-on experience.
Chocolate Consultant: Study and experience are essential for this job. You can’t hope to understand all the flavors and brands of chocolate in a hurry. The job description may include developing new products, conducting market surveys, training employees, minimizing waste and advising on marketing.

Knowledge, skills and attributes

To be a chocolatier, you should have a passion not just for chocolate, but for culinary arts in general. To get ahead, you should possess the following aptitudes and characteristics.

Creative thinking skills: Similar to other artists, chocolatiers must constantly rely on their creativity to create new chocolate masterpieces.
An adventurous nature: A chocolatier never stops looking for new flavour combinations; they must always be willing to seek out ingredients and discover other ways to make new creations.
Patience: Chocolate can be very challenging to work with; the slightest change in temperature can change its consistency and it is, therefore, essential that chocolatiers have patience (and lots of it).
Attention to detail: Chocolatiers spend a lot of time working and perfecting their creations, so it’s not surprising that a lot of them share this quality. It’s also critical that they produce flawless work to stay on top of their field.
The ability to handle pressure: A lot of things can go wrong in the kitchen, and a chocolatier must be able to handle every stressful situation with poise and grace.
Time management skills: In most cases, chocolatiers will have to juggle several orders at any given point in time and missing a client’s order is tantamount to career suicide. Being able to manage their time is therefore very important.
Marketing skills: If you’re new to the chocolate business, it’s also crucial that you’re able to market yourself well to attract potential employers and investors, should you hope to start your own business.

Chocolate Maker
(Source: CocoaBox)

"Chocolatiers are culinary artisans(or chefs) who source and blend high-quality chocolate (couverture), made by chocolate makers, to create their own unique chocolate products e.g. bonbons, truffles, pralines or flavoured bars. Chocolatiers specialise in fancy fillings, flavours and shapes of chocolate, think of all those delicious caramels or strawberry cream flavoured delicacies.
But very few chocolatiers make their own chocolate."

Master Chocolatier
(Source: Tasting Table)

Duties and Tasks

Depending on their level, chocolatiers also have other duties, which typically include:

processing cocoa beans, tempering chocolate, molding chocolate, and storing chocolate properly.
checking and examining production schedules to make sure that the correct amount of chocolates is properly made and delivered to customers
assisting with preparing chocolate products
ensuring cleanliness of kitchen and equipment
controlling temperature and operating equipment when creating chocolate products
discovering and testing new ingredients to create new chocolate concoctions
tempering, moulding and designing chocolate to create masterful creations
tempering, dipping, moulding, decorating and sculpting, they will make individual chocolates, including truffles and those filled with fruit, caramel, coffee or liqueur, chocolate bars and chocolate confectionery, and all manner of chocolate-based desserts including entremets, tarts, cakes and pastries.
design and make chocolate showpieces, explore flavour combinations and devise new recipes, particularly for seasonal occasions like Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
Custom orders, whether for corporate clients or retail customers may also be a part of the chocolatier’s remit.
inspecting finished products to ensure quality.

Working conditions

Chocolatiers are usually on their feet all day, balancing large trays of chocolate and perfecting the little details of their work. They don’t normally have fixed hours, because some creations can take longer than a normal working day (this ancient Mayan temple chocolate replica took 400 hours to make!), but they usually start early as palates are still fresh in the morning.

It’s also common to work during the holidays since this is the time that most orders usually come in (think: Valentine’s Day and Christmas).

Education and training/entrance requirements

To become a confectioner you usually have to complete an apprenticeship in Food Processing. Entry requirements may vary, but employers generally require Year 10.

Training is usually both on and off the job. The off-the-job training is provided through Registered Training Organisations.

To start a career as a chocolatier, or chocolate maker, you need formal training and experience in the industry. To earn qualifications for this job you can complete an associate’s degree program in pastry arts or go to culinary school to learn about food and cooking from around the world. You can also choose to get on-the-job training or complete an apprenticeship with an experienced chocolatier to learn the skills you need to be successful.

For instance, having a degree in pastry and baking arts will give you the technical know-how to work with different kinds of ingredients, including chocolate. You’re also most likely to receive some hands-on experience by apprenticing under a master chocolatier, which will help you gain more exposure.

Employment Opportunities

Becoming recognized as a chocolatier in this competitive field can be a difficult task. Aspiring chocolatiers should begin by earning a degree as a pastry or confections chef from an accredited culinary school, and then serve as an assistant or apprentice in a kitchen or confectionery to gain practical experience. While some chocolatiers work as self-employed subcontractors, many are hired by hotels, restaurants, and confectioners. Employers generally prefer applicants who have education, practical experience, and a portfolio of past work.

Prospective chocolatiers often find employment assisting experienced chocolatiers. This allows them to further hone their skills in preparation for advancing to a head chocolatier position or opening their own chocolatier business.

Did You Know?

Chocolates

Chocolate may be the “food of the gods,” but for most of its 4,000-year history, it was actually consumed as a bitter beverage rather than as a sweet edible treat.

Anthropologists have found evidence that chocolate was produced by pre-Olmec cultures living in present-day Mexico as early as 1900 B.C. The ancient Mesoamericans who first cultivated cacao plants found in the tropical rainforests of Central America fermented, roasted and ground the cacao beans into a paste that they mixed with water, vanilla, honey, chili peppers and other spices to brew a frothy chocolate drink.

Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilizations found chocolate to be an invigorating drink and mood enhancer which led them to believe that it possessed mystical and spiritual qualities. The Mayans worshipped a god of cacao and reserved chocolate for rulers, warriors, priests and nobles at sacred ceremonies.

When the Aztecs began to dominate Mesoamerica in the 14th century, they craved cacao beans, which could not be grown in the dry highlands of central Mexico that were the heart of their civilization. The Aztecs traded with the Mayans for cocao beans, which were so coveted that they were used as currency. (In the 1500s, Aztecs could purchase a turkey hen for 100 beans.)

The Story of Chocolate
https://youtu.be/P_Sv99aM-WE

Did You Know?

In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors such as Hernán Cortés who sought gold and silver in Mexico returned instead with chocolate. Although the Spanish sweetened the bitter drink with cane sugar and cinnamon, one thing remained unchanged: chocolate was still a delectable symbol of luxury, wealth and power. Chocolate was sipped by royal lips, and only Spanish elites could afford the expensive import.

Spain managed to keep chocolate a savory secret for nearly a century, but when the daughter of Spanish King Philip III, Princess Maria Theresa wed French King Louis XIII in 1615, she brought her love of chocolate with her to France. The popularity of chocolate quickly spread to other European courts, and aristocrats consumed it as a magic elixir with salubrious benefits.

To slake their growing thirst for chocolate, European powers established colonial plantations in equatorial regions around the world to grow cacao and sugar. When diseases brought by the European explorers depleted the native Mesoamerican labor pool, African slaves were imported to work on the plantations and maintain the production of chocolate.

Chocolate beans are the seeds of the cacao tree. They are encased in a sticky white pulp inside the fruit of the cacao tree (pod). Almost 2000 pods per year are produced on a single cacao tree. Beans are harvested twice a year. They are fermented in earthen pits or wooden bins covered with banana leaves. During fermentation (from a few days to a week or more) the bean darkens in color and loses some of its bitter flavor. Finally the beans are dried in the sun for about a week.
(Source: Madelaine Chocolate)

Chocolate remained an aristocratic nectar until Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten in 1828 invented the cocoa press, which revolutionized chocolate-making. The cocoa press could squeeze the fatty cocoa butter from roasted cacao beans, leaving behind a dry cake that could be pulverized into a fine powder that could be mixed with liquids and other ingredients, poured into molds and solidified into edible, easily digestible chocolate. The innovation by van Houten ushered in the modern era of chocolate by enabling it to be used as a confectionary ingredient, and the resulting drop in production costs made chocolate affordable to the masses.

In 1847, British chocolate company J.S. Fry & Sons created the first solid edible chocolate bar from cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar. Rodolphe Lindt’s 1879 invention of the conching machine, which produced chocolate with a velvety texture and superior taste, and other advances allowed for the mass production of smooth, creamy milk chocolate on factory assembly lines. You don’t need to have a sweet tooth to recognize the familiar names of the family-owned companies such as Cadbury, Mars and Hershey that ushered in a chocolate boom in the late 1800s and early 1900s that has yet to abate. More than $75 billion worldwide is spent on chocolate annually. (Source: History.com)

Haigh's Chocolates - Working in Manufacturing
https://youtu.be/qDso5MJlFrU