Learn how to make chocolate, from an expert, at a beautiful and historic hotel? Who could pass up that opportunity? Writer Yvette Cardozo didn’t when she visited The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Go behind the scenes with her (and on your own when you’re a guest there), and you’ll find new appreciation for treats to enjoy. 

Save this article to Pinterest so you can plan your visit to The Broadmoor to learn how to make chocolate. Graphic by Real Food Traveler.

Hungry for more? See what it’s like to stay at The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort.

I’ve always been a bit conflicted about cooking. Recipes, pots and pans, cleanup. Sigh. But somehow once I actually start, I do enjoy it all. Especially the aroma of… stuff… being cooked, baked, fried.

Food clinics and classes tend to intimidate me. But, they can REALLY be fun. And THIS was chocolate, afterall.

So, of course, I signed up for a day of food clinics, starring a chance to seriously play with chocolate at Colorado Springs’ Broadmoor Hotel.

The term “upscale” doesn’t do The Broadmoor justice. I think there was a time in the early 20th century when hotels like this popped out of the ground in countless cities. There was one much like the Broadmoor in south Miami Beach where I grew up. And while the Roney Plaza is long gone, The Broadmoor is very much still with us.

Meanwhile, I was there to experience chocolate – making, cooking, fooling around with chocolate. I don’t view this as cooking. Rather, chocoholic that I am, I see it as FUN.

So, there we were, behind a pane of sometimes opaque glass (yes, they could control this so the public could see, or not see, what was going on), learning how to have fun with chocolate. And, yes, opportunities like this are available to hotel guests.

Gourmet chocolates made by the Broadmoor pastry chef.

I was at the elbow of Amanda Hodek, the pastry sous chef in charge of, among other things, chocolate. Houdek said in pastry school she just gravitated to chocolate, studied it on her own and eventually landed at the Broadmoor where she has been for seven years.

The chocolate they make is for sale at the hotel, so they do go through a LOT of it. This year, they ordered three tons (yes…TONS), mostly from the Dominican Republic but also Madagascar and other spots along Africa’s Ivory coast. But that’s nothing compared to the year they ordered (and used) nine tons.

Houdek explained what she’s looking for in a chocolate is a neutral taste, adding that she went through six different chocolates until she found what she wanted.

Our first step was melting the chocolate by controlling the temperature so it would crystalize properly. It does actually crystalize. Under a microscope, Houdek said, the crystals look like snowflakes. The technique to reach this requires heating and cooling and heating and cooling the chocolate again and again. And of course, you also need to know when to stop.

While the chocolate was melting, Hodeck had a second pot going with sugar, water, and slivered almonds which would emerge as candied almonds destined for almond rocher candy.

Next was ganache, which Google defines as “a whipped filling of chocolate and cream, used in desserts such as cakes and truffles.”

Interestingly, it turns out chocolate and cream don’t really go together well. Getting this to work takes patience and, among other things, knowing just how hot to get the chocolate. In this case, it’s just under 89 degrees F.

It’s a matter of respecting the temperature range of chocolate, Hodek explained. The process is referred to as “tempering,” which is not the same a “melting.” When chocolate is melted, the molecules separate. When you temper the chocolate, you bond those molecules back together so your chocolate will harden with a glossy, crisp finish.

And, as “they” say, there’s more. You still need to mix the chocolate and the cream.

Meanwhile, “when you’re mixing the cream into the chocolate, you want it to be shiny, not grainy or separated,” Hodek said.

Pastry chef Amanda Houdek pours cream into chocolate to make a ganache which will become part of gourmet chocolates.

All this was poured onto parchment paper across a cookie sheet and left to crystalize (basically get firm) at room temperature. Then, with a knife that Hodek first heated in hot water, then dried, she sliced the chocolate into squares.

All this was done, of course with what people think of as “dark” or semi-sweet chocolate. And yes, it was as truly yum as it sounds.

So, can the public experience something like this? Yes, if you’re staying at the hotel. The Broadmoor offers regularly scheduled one-hour tours of the kitchen for free but the chocolate clinic (also free) must be booked separately.

To learn more, contact The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, here. 

-Story and photos by Yvette Cardozo, Real Food Traveler Ski & Dive Editor

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