On arrival at the Nottingham venue, The Britannia Hotel (there is a choice of 14 cities across the UK) I was greeted by Christine Currie and taken into the room where we would all be working.
I was welcomed by the smell and sight of a chocolate fountain and the chocolatier, Mr Red Hughes, melting chocolate for our use.
In the interests of research I, of course, tried the fountain, dipping in a marshmallow.
After a short and fascinating history of chocolate we were given some to taste and told about the different percentages of cocoa content of various types.
We were shown how to create a ganache — a blend of chocolate and cream — that forms the centre of a truffle.
It was then we realised how easy our expert made it look — it was actually hard work.
You have to keep the whole solid mixture moving and work very fast.
We piped a line of filling on to a tray, cut it into small pieces and rolled it into balls.
We were then shown how to temper chocolate for the truffle coating.
Tempering is what gives chocolate its gloss and the snap you get when biting into it.
This is a tricky procedure that I have tried before and failed. This time I think I mastered it.
The truffles were coated in the prepared chocolate and we chose from a variety of additional treats to finish them off.
Our expert taught us some quick and easy ideas to work with chocolate at home.
Having been on chocolate courses before, this was by far the best I have done and everyone in my group enjoyed their experience.
We went away with bags full of truffles to impress everyone at home.
Those I brought into the office disappeared very quickly and I have had requests already to make some as Christmas presents.
Our chocolatier made the two-hour course interesting, useful, tasty and great fun.
It is suitable for beginners or those interested in making chocolates at home for gifts.
Other local experiences by
wish.co.uk include afternoon tea at Thoresby Hall.
