Is Ecole Chocolate online program for me?

I know that a few questions about Ecole Chocolate has been asked before in the forum, and I did read good reviews, however I didn't find enough information for me to decide.

The first question is how does it work? Is it something like - "here is your reading about the subject, study then do the exercise"? I got general information about this program but I don't understand how the learning is actually done.

Second question - can't you get the same training from books, online reading and videos + this forum?

I completed a professional pastry training, purchased "Chocolates and Confections" and I already practice. So I do have some skills and knowledge, but I want to learn it more thoroughly. Also my results are not satisfactory in my opinion.

So I really think about it and I am not sure if I need this program or can continue to learn and practice on my own and get to the same results.

Any thoughts from people who did this program will be appreciated!

Thanks,

Or

updated by @or-m: 04/10/15 11:43:32AM

Since the course is self-directed it is mostly reading and then practicing. It is well organized information, which is why the course is good for someone with no other experience. Plus there is a lot of good information regarding the history of chocolate.Based on your experience you could do just fine continuing on your own. It sounds like you are already developing an understanding of how to temper chocolate. It is a continual learning process anyway with success and failure along the way.One thing that might benefit you is to find someone locally who is a chocolate maker or has experience who you can hire for some hands on training. Maybe an hour or so to see how someone else tempers chocolates. We learn not just by reading but by modeling what we see as well.Once you have a handle on tempering then you might want to consider spending time learning (either through Ecole or in you own) about how to avoid contamination, mold growth and the best ways to extend shelf life.I took the Ecole class you discuss and enjoyed it. I also did some professional-level classes and continue to develop my skills on my own. I do think its possible for you to do it on you own but it will probably just take longer.Andrea

Andrea thanks for the great info and advice!

It is great help.

Or-m,

I recently took Ecole Chocolat's Professional Chocolatier program, and I echo what Andrea already offered.  I don't have the professional culinary background that you have, yet there is one other thing that I found very helpful that you might like, too:  you would be taking this course with other students from many different locales.  Worldwide, in fact.  While I live in Texas, my "cohort" group consisted of folks as far away as Germany, England, Kuwait, Ecuador, and southeast Asia.  Obviously, there were folks from all across the USA as well as Canada, too. Each of us was invited to submit information/results of our various exercises as we progressed through the curriculum.  The exercises are monitored and graded by professional chocolatiers who are on staff at Ecole Chocolat (and they are quite good in that capacity, too).  While each individual assignment is submitted in private for official grading, we were encouraged to share our results and questions within an open forum. This was particularly helpful to me as we could converse online and share our successes as well as our troubles and challenges.  I personally fell behind on a few things (temperature control in south Texas is a bit of challenge during much of the year!), but the EC staff are graciously allowing me to catch up this spring.  Yes, the actual work and assignments are done all on your own, but you are potentially building a network of "cohorts" who you might someday want to contact and bounce ideas back and forth with.  To me, it's worth it.

Cotton