The Chocolate Studio
This class is for anyone who loves chocolate but wants to understand it a little more deeply — how to taste it, how to work with it, and how to turn it into something special at home.
In The Chocolate Studio: Tasting, Pairing & Hand-Rolled Truffles, we’ll explore a curated flight of chocolates, talk about cocoa percentages, origins, and styles, and learn what’s actually happening when chocolate melts, seizes, or blooms. From there, we’ll move into simple, approachable techniques for making silky ganache and hand-rolling truffles with flavor profiles that go beyond “just sweet.”
Along the way we’ll play with pairings — think chocolate with cheese, coffee, tea, and a small taste of wine — and talk about how to build a little chocolate moment at the end of a meal without a lot of fuss. You’ll leave with a box of truffles you made yourself, a better palate for tasting chocolate, and the confidence to work with it in your own kitchen.
Price: $165 per person plus tax
all ingredients included
Class Overview
This hands-on workshop blends tasting, light food science, and a bit of confectionery craft. We’ll start with a structured chocolate tasting, learning how to notice aroma, snap, melt, and finish — and how cacao percentage, origin, and style shape what you experience.
We’ll cover the basics of working with chocolate at home: how to gently melt it without scorching, what ganache is and how to adjust it, what “tempering” means and when you actually need it, plus how to store chocolate so it stays in good condition.
From there, we’ll make a base ganache together and turn it into a small collection of hand-rolled truffles using flavor add-ins like citrus, warm spices, sea salt, toasted nuts, and infused creams. The focus is on approachable, repeatable techniques rather than perfection — the kind of chocolate making you can actually recreate in your own kitchen.
What You'll Learn
• How to taste chocolate thoughtfully — aroma, texture, flavor, and finish.
• The basics of cocoa percentages, origin, and style (milk, dark, single-origin, blended).
• Simple kitchen science behind melting, seizing, and bloom — and how to avoid common pitfalls.
• How to make a versatile chocolate ganache and adjust it for different uses.
• Hand-rolling, shaping, and finishing truffles with coatings like cocoa, nuts, and chocolate shards.
• Approachable pairings: how to match chocolate with cheese, coffee, tea, and wine for contrast or harmony.
• Tips for storing and serving chocolate desserts so they taste their best when they hit the table.
On The Menu
Menu may vary slightly by season and chocolate availability, but typically includes:
Guided Chocolate Tasting Flight
A selection of chocolates (milk, dark, single-origin, inclusion) tasted side by side with a simple tasting grid to help you notice differences.
Chocolate & Cheese Pairing Board
A small board featuring a few cheeses, dried fruits, and nuts to explore savory-sweet pairings with chocolate.
Chocolate with Coffee, Tea & a Sip of Wine
Tasting how different beverages highlight or soften bitterness, acidity, and sweetness in chocolate.
Signature Dark Chocolate Truffles
Silky hand-rolled truffles made from a base dark chocolate ganache, finished in cocoa powder and chocolate shavings.
Citrus or Spice-Kissed Truffles
A second truffle flavor using infused cream, warm spices, or citrus zest for a brighter, aromatic profile.
Nutty or Crunchy Truffles
A third variation featuring toasted nuts, seeds, or a subtle crunch for contrast.
Who This Class Is For
• Chocolate lovers who want to move beyond simply eating it to really understanding it.
• Home cooks who’d like to make simple, elegant chocolate desserts without specialized equipment.
• Hosts who want to feel confident putting together a small chocolate tasting or pairing board for guests.
• Curious beginners and practiced home cooks alike — no prior chocolate experience required.
Take Aways
• A simple framework for tasting and talking about chocolate with more confidence.
• A base ganache recipe and variations you can adapt to your favorite flavors.
• Ideas for pairing chocolate with cheese, coffee, tea, and wine at home.
• A box of hand-rolled truffles you made in class, plus printed recipes and notes.
Class Details
Format: Hands-on tasting and confectionery workshop
Length: ~2.5 hours
Skill Level: Chocolate enthusiasts and curious home cooks; no prior chocolate experience needed
Includes: Guided tasting, pairings, all ingredients and tools, a box of truffles to take home, printed recipes and tasting notes
Cook’s Culinary Collective is a come-to-you experience: I handle the shopping, we cook together in your home, and you enjoy a great night with your guests. When we’re finished, I head out and you get to stay put, happy, and already home.
Class Size: Intimate on purpose for tasting, pairing, and hands-on confection work with close guidance.
Group Size: Minimum 2, maximum 12 in most home kitchens. Larger groups may require an event space.