Over the past 10 years, the number of bean-to-bar chocolate operations in the United States has grown exponentially. Yet no American culinary school has invested in a chocolate lab where pastry students and seasoned professionals can experience the full cycle of bean-to-bar production鈥ntil now.
ICE鈥檚 Chocolate Lab was designed to expose students to the premier small-batch equipment in the industry鈥攖he very same tools used by some of the world鈥檚 leading research and development chefs and chocolatiers. Our partner in this groundbreaking venture is Cacao Cucina; the only American company that specializes in the production of artisanal, bean-to-bar chocolate equipment. The lab is also outfitted with premier chocolate moulding, tempering and finishing equipment from Tomric Systems. 鈥
I once read an article where a chocolatier stated, 鈥楾he most important step in making chocolate is every step.鈥 With the development of this center of research and development, I鈥檓 excited to show pastry chefs who aren鈥檛 chocolate makers how quantitative aspects of the process鈥攔oasting time and temperature, milling particle size, etc.鈥攃an effect the end flavor, and to explore the best applications of every type of chocolate.鈥 鈥 Michael Laiskonis, ICE Creative Director
To learn more about the Chocolate Lab at ICE, click here.
