A chocolatier course was held at the TAFE Illawarra Bega campus on Thursday for both students and professionals in the industry, where they learnt the skills involved in making the sweet that is abundant over Easter. 

“The secret with chocolate is that it’s a skill that requires patience and you need to follow a process,” baking trades teacher for TAFE Herve Boutin said. 

“It’s very scientific – you have to follow the steps and be patient.” 

Mr Boutin is part of an initiative providing demonstrations to regional centres to grow the skills of students in such areas as pie making, croissants and chocolate. 

“Chefs don’t often work with chocolate,” he said. 

“But students need the opportunity to see how these products are made.

“When you are a chef you still need different skills to finish a product – you need to reach for that ‘wow’ factor.”