Chicago gets fatter with new Chocolate Academy
Choco mogul Barry Callebaut opens a new training ground for confectioners
Photo: Roslan Rahman |
A visitor to the Singapore Chocolate Academy ponders whether anyone will notice a single missing chocolate chip.
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International chocolate baron Barry Callebaut opened his first U.S. Chocolate Academy in Chicago yesterday, citing the city's "talented labor pool" and prime location in an interview with MarketWatch. It's not surprising he picked Chicago, given the city's no stranger to the choco-tastic industry: It once boasted local-based confectionaries like Fannie Mae, Frango, and even Blommer Chocolate Co., which still tortures drivers on Milwaukee Ave. with mouth-watering aromas. But what the hell is a "chocolate baron" and a "Chocolate Academy?"
Well, the academy is one of 12 around the around the world. They offer lectures, demonstrations, and workshops by French award-winning pastry chef Jerome Landrieu for pastry chefs, confectioners, bakers, and caterers. (So there's probably little chance you'll be asked to lick the bowl, but at least its graduates will be working in local restaurants in due time.) Landrieu also serves as Academy advisor for the U.S. site located at 600 W. Chicago Ave. Other academies are located in Belgium, India, and Russia.
Callebaut is the biggest chocolate manufacturer in the world, producing chocolate in 24 countries in more than 40 facilities. Chances are, he's still asked where he keeps the Oompa-Loompas at night whenever he attends a party.
