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The Chocolate Maker Experience: 4-Day Guided Workshop
Led by Chef Stephen Durfee, our Director of Curriculum, this four-day workshop invites you into the chocolate making process as a participant, inside our Valencia Street and 16th Street factories, alongside the experts.
This is one of the only times we open our factory floor in this way, offering guests the rare opportunity to step behind the scenes and work directly with the same small-scale equipment we have. Over the course of the workshop, you’ll explore both of our factories and the neighborhood that surrounds it; taking on the role of a chocolate maker and experiencing what it means to shape chocolate from bean to bar.
What to Expect
Across four days, you will work through the full process of small-batch chocolate making: sorting, roasting, cracking and winnowing, grinding, tempering, molding, and wrapping. Each guest creates their own 2-kilo batch of chocolate, guiding it through roasting, refining, and tempering into finished bars and confections to take home.
Alongside your individual work, the group will collaborate on a larger-scale, single-origin batch, offering a perspective on both the intimacy and coordination required in production. Throughout the workshop, you’ll participate in guided tastings, technical discussions, and guest lectures covering sourcing, fermentation, roasting, and the many decisions that shape flavor long before chocolate reaches your hands.
The experience extends beyond the factory into the Mission District, through shared meals, neighborhood walks, and visits to some of our favorite places for coffee, pastries, and dinner. Together, these moments offer a deeper connection to the place where we work and the community that surrounds it. This is a high-touch, intentionally paced experience designed to mirror the cadence of real production, inviting curiosity, conversation, and hands-on learning.
Workshop Details
16th Street Factory
What YOUR TICKET INCLUDES
- Four days of guided, hands-on chocolate making
- Your own 2-kilo batch of chocolate
- Guided tastings, guest lectures, and group production work
- Daily pastries, chocolate drinks, neighborhood visits throughout the Mission
- Lunch each day, and one dinner on the final day.
What You’ll Take Home
- ~20 custom wrapped chocolate bars from your batch
- Chocolate made by your classmates
- Truffles made with your own chocolate
- A portion of the group-produced chocolate
A Few Notes Before You Arrive
- This is a hands-on workshop; we recommend comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes.
- Some sessions will involve walking between locations.
- Meals are curated; we may not be able to accommodate all dietary restrictions.
- Please reach out in advance at events@dandelionchocolate.com with any questions.