The profession of chocolate maker
The business of chocolatier consists of making creations made of chocolat, for making a cake or candy. The chocolate maker takes care of the conception, preperation, cooking as well as dressage. He works the chocolate to give it an appearance other than the original one. He can perform preparations, such as creams, ganaches, whipped pieces, etc. He also takes care of making pieces for annual events like Easter, Christmas and even birthdays.
The skills required
The universe of chocolaterie is an area requiring a lot of rigor, from creativity, but also of patience in order to make pieces of very high quality. The handling of chocolate is very technique, this is why it is necessary to show dexterity and of precision. You must be both fast and regular in your gestures.
The required level and diplomas
In order to practice, you can hold a professional baccalaureate boulanger/pastry chef or one bac+2 patents mastery Where technique professions of chocolate maker / confectioner.
You should know that there are several lanes to exercise this profession. You can go through different trainings like :
- CAP chocolatier / confectioner
- CAP pastry chef
- CAP glacier manufacturer
- Additional mention pastry, ice cream, chocolate, specialized confectionery
You also have the possibility to make a CFA, which is very beneficial. You will do your work-study training which will allow you to integrate more easily into the world of work.
If you want to resume a chocolate factory, a business, you have to get a diploma from BTM (Technical Patent of Trades). It is a qualification dedicated to crafts, to be qualified as that worker or qualified employee of level 4.
Compensation
Regarding the salary of a chocolate maker / confectioner, everything depends on his status. If he has a worker status beginner, it starts by getting the Minimum wage, that is to say a little more than 1200 €. As a worker experimented and qualified, he can earn between 1500 and 1600 € / month. However, if you are working under the status craftsman on your own account, your salary may amount to 3000 at 4000 € / month. You will understand, it is enough to stand out and to offer quality products if you want to be successful.
Chocolatier’s outfit
The chocolate maker can equip himself with different equipment in order to adopt an original uniform that represents the image of his workplace. We will offer you different equipment to make up your work clothes.
The outfit typical of the chocolatier consists mainly of a you know from cuisine with a buttoning single or double, in order to be able to remove it easily, but also for you protect a maximum. Most of the time it has a col ras neck, as well as sleeves short to avoid the slightest friction and to allow easier handling of the chocolate. To have a comfort optimal, your jacket must be breathable and easy to maintain. A well-cut kitchen jacket guarantees a very good quality of work. This is why the Cookie kitchen jacket from SNV is made for you, it is now available in different color.
You will also need to have a trousers having some characteristics similar to the jacket, in particular favoring a matter anti–transpiration for your comfort. The pants should also be both robust and not have any hems to avoid the slightest germ. It is therefore necessary to favor a cut pied from chicken, that is to say, adjusted to your legs. We invite you to take a look at the HERVE kitchen pants from SNV. It perfectly matches the criteria mentioned.
To guarantee a haute security and hygiene in your workplace, you need good shoes, standardized, specialized for this profession. You must have safety shoes with the correct standards EN ISO 20345. These shoes are similar to those of the baker / pastry chef. They must be comfortable and solid to last a long time. Your best bet would be to forget about the laces and stay on a pair of shoes simple, which holds your foot. We have available the pair of S2 moccasins from Portwest. They are ideal to practice this activity.
In order to polish your outfit chocolatier, you must bring yourself accessories essential for your hygiene, security and the image you bring to your customers.
For you protect the head, you can use a toque or a cap to minimize hair loss and microbes in your preparations.
The mains also need to be protected with gloves disposable nitrile or latex. We offer boxes of 100 A295 gloves from Portwest.
Finally, apron, is very useful to serve as protection additional in addition to your clothes. In general, the chocolatier uses a chef’s apron, in order to preserve a good freedom from movement. The chef & waiter apron by the Molinel brand is very comfortable with its material in cotton.
And after ?
The chocolatier has many choice in his career :
Evolution status: During your career, you will acquire experience, which will facilitate your change of status. According to your motivations, you will be able to open your own workshop and have more freedom to create your pieces and confectionery. You can also consider going abroad to share your know-how and your creations.
You can also to expand your skills thanks to the formation continue, in order to increase your experience in pastry, ice cream, etc. this will result to increase your target customers while variant your products.