What is a chocolatier?

These are some Easter Egg figurines. One of my chocolatier creations which I designed and created many years ago. The entire piece is made of chocolate (milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate pieces).

When I’m hosting my tastings, many people get confused about the difference between a chocolatier and a chocolate maker (AKA bean-to-bar maker).

A Chocolate Maker

One who takes raw (unroasted) cacao beans, and proceeds to roast, winnow, and refine them into chocolate. They have full control over the process and over the flavour profile, much like a coffee roaster does over coffee beans.

A chocolatier

They take chocolate made by a chocolate maker, and proceed to make chocolates (bonbons, figurines, truffles, or formed into bars). Most of the chocolate shops in the world, and probably all or nearly all the shops you’ve been to are chocolatier shops.

The term “bean-to-bar” maker came into play when in the past few decades, there have become more and more chocolate makers. They needed a way to differentiate themselves from chocolatiers. It’s not that one is better than the other, but they want the public to know how they are different and why that’s important.

Where it gets complicated

Now some chocolate makers also make confections from their chocolate (bonbons, truffles, figurines), but they use the chocolate they made from bean-to-bar. Nowadays, they are also quite simple in technique and in style in order to focus mostly on the quality/flavour of the chocolate.

A chocolate maker uses a refiner (AKA stone grinder, AKA melanger) to turn cocoa beans into chocolate.

Some chocolatiers have a line of bean-to-bar chocolate, and vice versa. Soma Chocolate Maker in Toronto is an example of this. They have lots of confections and bonbons they make from couverture (a high quality chocolate made by another manufacturer) but they also have their own line of bean-to-bar chocolate they make from scratch on premise.

Why is it important to differentiate?

The main reason is quality of the chocolate. Even the top chocolate shops in the world don’t use couverture that is as interesting and complex as many of the lesser known craft bean-to-bar makers. It’s a very predictable flavour, which is good if you’re mixing other ingredients into it (such as when they make ganaches or add fruits/nuts to their bars).

A bean-to-bar chocolate maker wants you to know they made it from scratch. This takes lots of effort. Imagine a baker who makes everything from scratch. Hard work indeed. Now imagine that same baker not only makes their breads and pastries from scratch, but also takes the wheat, winnows and mills it themselves. That’s a lot of work! And there is another skill involved in that as well.

Also think of many pastry/coffee shops that buy good quality frozen pastries or croissants that they bake themselves. Nothing wrong with that if that is their business model. However, how does that compare to a shop who actually makes their own croissant dough from scratch. One definitely has a greater skill set than the other, and this is what many consumers admire and support.

Now both chocolatiers and chocolate makers have skill sets, and many times they cross over. But a chocolatier who has never made high quality bean-to-bar chocolate lacks a special skill and ability. Likewise, a bean-to-bar chocolate maker who only makes the chocolate and forms it into bars lacks the skills of how to work with chocolate beyond that.

The bottom line is they are different, and as a consumer it may benefit you to know what those differences are

How do I know if a chocolate shop makes their chocolate from scratch?

Ask them! But don’t ask them if they make their chocolate(s) from scratch. They will often say yes, because they do. They make the bonbons and figures themselves if they are a chocolatier. You need to ask them specifically do you make your own chocolate from the raw cocoa beans on premise. Ninety-nine percent of the time you will get a no. That’s how rare a bean-to-bar chocolate maker is! Even if you went to New York or Paris and went to the top world renowned chocolate shops, you would be surprised to know they don’t actually make their own chocolate from the cocoa bean.