Chocolatier vs Chocolate Maker vs Chocolate Sommelier: What is the difference?

I wear many hats as a chocolate professional. I began in chocolate as a chocolate sommelier assistant, eventually creating my own curriculum. I then quickly delve into becoming a chocolatier for many years starting in production work and eventually creating my own recipes and designs. All the while I had a very keen interested in the science, tasting, and background of chocolate which went much deeper than what I could learn or experience as a chocolatier. Eventually, not surprisingly, I started to make my own chocolate from the cocoa bean and today I focus on teaching others how to taste and appreciate, work with chocolate, and make chocolate.

It came to my attention recently (through an email from a customer) that I never really clearly explained the difference between the three of them. I also take for granted sometimes that many people are not aware of the differences or what those titles entail. I do have a page dedicated to understanding the difference between a chocolatier and a chocolate maker as well as commercial vs fine chocolate. Here I will try and be concise and also include what a chocolate sommelier does.

Chocolatier

My work as a chocolatier. I didn’t make the chocolate from the cocoa bean, but I did use couverture chocolate to make this 100% chocolate tree which stands about 12-14”.

This is who most people encounter. Most of the chocolate shops in the world are owned by chocolatiers. Even the top world renowned chocolate shops in Paris or London are chocolatiers, not chocolate makers. So what is a chocolatier?

A chocolatier is someone who works with chocolate, similar to how a baker works with flour. They take chocolate made by a chocolate maker (usually referred to as couverture chocolate which is chocolate with more cocoa butter and/or lecithin to make it flow easier) and proceed to cast it into bars, figures, make bonbons, truffles, and other confections using this chocolate.

There is a great deal of skill required to be a good chocolatier. Skills that you wouldn’t use as a baker or a cook. In fact, those who shape and mold clay or wood may find working with chocolate easier than someone who cooks food. In fact, about half of my tools as a chocolatier come from the hardware store, not a kitchen supplies store.

So a chocolatier works with chocolatier, but does not make the actual chocolate.

Chocolate Maker

A chocolate maker makes the actual chocolate from the cocoa bean. They source the raw dried cocoa beans from various countries, roast them (similar to how you might coffee beans), remove the husk or “shell”, and then grind it up with sugar and other ingredients to make a sticky gooey chocolate. This chocolate is then tempered and shaped into bars. Think of a chocolate maker more like a coffee roaster, or a baker who makes their own flour, or a cheese maker. They make the actual chocolate.

My trusted chocolate making friend! This is a refiner I use in my classes where I teach the public how they too can make their very own chocolate from the cocoa bean. The more that can appreciate, the better it is for everyone in the industry.

Now obviously a chocolate maker can take on all the skills of a chocolatier, such as not only shaping their chocolate into bars, but also making figurines, or turning their chocolate into ganaches to make truffles and bonbons and many other products. However, to do all of this is very labour intensive. Making your own chocolate is expensive and labour intensive (especially if you wish to make a high quality chocolate sourcing expensive high quality cocoa beans). Therefore, many makers today, since their chocolate is already so expensive, normally only shape it into bars and have quite a narrow spectrum of products. Otherwise, their bonbons would be double the price of the chocolatier shop down the street - and most consumers wouldn’t understand or appreciate the difference and likely not be willing to pay that price tag.

Therefore, a chocolate maker makes the actual chocolate from the cocoa bean. Now there is spectrum of makers as well. Some are big industrial commercial makers such as many brands you see in the grocery store. There is also a growing few are small-scale artisan chocolate makers making top of the line chocolate. And there are many in between. This differentiation is what I mainly try and teach in my tastings and on this website.

Chocolate Sommelier

A chocolate sommelier is not dissimilar from a wine, coffee, or tea sommelier. They are not a food critic, and not simply a connoisseur. They’re essentially someone who is very knowledgeable about a particular food and able to guide consumers to better understand and appreciate that particular product. A chocolate sommelier should be able to discern and articulate the flavour of fine chocolate and determine the quality in regards to flavour, ingredients, and texture. As far as breadth of knowledge, a chocolate sommelier not only has experience tasting chocolate, but is knowledgeable about a wide range aspects including the history of chocolate, how chocolate is made, botany and genetics of cacao, the science behind the process of chocolate, and to really succeed, have a knowledge of flavour science.

Although nowadays there are more and more chocolate sommelier certification courses, which can be a good start, they don’t train one to be an expert. They are a good place to start, but being a sommelier is being an expert, and it took many years to feel confident enough to call myself one. It takes many years of hard work and dedication which comes from not only tasting, but reading and studying chocolate from the various angles I discussed above (history, process, science, botany, genetics, and science of flavour). Another key characteristic of a chocolate sommelier (or any sommelier) is the ability to share that wealth of knowledge to help educate the public. That’s essentially the core of any sommelier is to educate others on the fine product they are an expert in, and help them become confident in their own abilities to select and appreciate fine chocolate.

A chocolate sommelier does not necessarily have to work with chocolate or make chocolate (such as a wine sommelier doesn’t necessarily) but they should understand the ins-and-outs of it in order to better educate the consumer. A chocolate sommelier is an expert in fine chocolate and able to inform and educate the public in order to help them better appreciate it and understand it a deeper level. If you’re a chocolate sommelier who wishes to be more confident in your abilities, I recommend reading though everything in the learning centre, reading through the top 4 recommended books in the library, and reach out to me when you have questions!

If you are looking to become your own chocolate sommelier, or simply develop your skills and better appreciate fine chocolate, you may like to learn more about the Bean To Bar Compass I developed in order to help guide people towards appreciating fine chocolate. It is more than just a chocolate tasting logbook. It is filled with lots of practical and helpful tips and tools to become a more articulate and informed fine chocolate consumer.

Comparing the three

Working as a chocolatier for many years, I realized that most chocolatiers have no interest in chocolate making, fine chocolate, or the science behind chocolate. They are happy using couverture chocolate to make a wonderful array of products from that chocolate and challenge themselves in that respect.

Most chocolate makers today, although very knowledgeable about many aspects of fine chocolate, lack when it comes to many of the skills a chocolatier. As well, they don’t fully understand the science behind tasting chocolate and flavour, and often lack in this respect when it comes to educating their customers. They are extremely busy making chocolate and likely don’t have the time to delve into the details a chocolate sommelier should delve into.

Many chocolate sommeliers today lag when it comes to the practical side of working with chocolate (tempering, recipes), and often don’t delve deeper into the history, science of chocolate, or science of flavour after their certificate is complete. To be a sommelier is not a light task. You’re expected to be an expert, and so reading and research should be never ending and never enough.

Obviously when it comes to individual people, many of these can overlap for various people and at different stages in their career. Chocolate makers have many skills chocolatiers have. Some chocolate chocolatiers may dabble into chocolate making. Chocolate sommeliers come in an array of levels depending on their experience and the work they are willing to put in.

Summary

There you have it. A chocolatier works with chocolate but does not make the actual chocolate. A chocolate maker makes the actual chocolate, and from there they may or may not take on many of the skills a chocolatier has in regards to product line. A chocolate sommelier is often not a chocolatier nor a chocolate maker (but may be both or all three), but should be an expert in the field of chocolate especially in regards to educating the public and steering them towards high quality chocolate and learning how to appreciate it at a deeper level. I hope this has helped.

If you yourself wish to learn more about chocolate, I recommend heading to my navigation and book a tasting, or purchase bars from the online shop (and add a virtual sommelier add-on to Zoom with me in a live video chat!), or just browse the growing free learning center with a growing database of information including history, science, research, tasting, chocolate making, video, blogs, and more! Of course, as always you are more than welcome to contact me to ask any chocolate related question you may have.