A CHOCOLATE SCHOOL IN JAKARTA,INDONESIA?

Yeah, yeah I know. It is the last place in the world chocolate enthusiasts expect to launch into a chocolate career by going to a school. The chances are that if you have dreams of becoming a great chocolatier, you would be considering going to school in Belgium or France. Indonesia? You must be mad, they will tell you to even allow such a thought to cross your mind.

The fact is Jakarta is a great place to go to a chocolate school. And its not because I live here. Jakarta has a long history of cocoa. I fact we had plantations here in the 1700s and were exporting cocoa to Europe in the late 18th century. Great plantations exist three to four hours from here. And it well worth a trip to just to go and look at them. They actually exist on the slopes of central mountain range and the drive up there in the morning is delightful. And the breakfast places along the way serve healthy bowls of great Java porridge. But lets get back to talking about chocolate careers and good chocolate schools.

The Chocolate School  is located in Central Jakarta. Just 15 minutes from the main street down town.Here there are a variety of courses offered; A 3-Day Basic Course, Professional and Gourmet Praline Courses and even courses that tell you how to start and market chocolate. The big surprise is  the faculty  is headed by an experienced and professional Belgian Chocolatier. Those who has discovered the school are delighted to have discovered a "secret" where they get, as even the snootiest French visitors admit, a superior chocolate education at incredible fair tuition prices. The School has drawn students not only from all over Indonesia but also from the Philippines and from the parsimonious Singaporeans on the look out for the best bargains.All chocolate used in the courses are premium couvertures.

The school is owned by FreyAbadi, a chocolate ingredients manufacturer; a joint venture between Petra Foods, Singapore and Fuji Oil of Japan. Which are excellent credentials; Petra Foods is the fourth largest manufacturer of chocolate ingredients in the world and Fuji Oil the world's number one producer of edible vegetable fats. For more information on the School you may email me for sensible guidance; mervynpereira00@gmail.com

THREE SECRETS FOR A PERFECT CHOCOLATE COOKIE

We think anyone can bake a cookie. Kids do it in school. All over town are bakeries that sell cookies.After all to make a cookie all you need flour,butter,eggs,sugar, leavening agents,salt and of course chocolate. Simple right? Yet most of the cookies we munch into are quite insipid. There are three secrets you must know to bake the super cookie.

1)Mix and leave the dough in the frig for at least 36 hours. Why? Shirley O Corriher author of "Cook Wise" all about Science in the kitchen explains: it allows trhe dough to soak up the liquid especially the eggs which are gelatinous and neet a longer hydration time.

The butter coats the flour, preventing the liquid from going through. The extra time in the frig allows the liquids to get through to the dry ingredients.

2) Size is important. The best cookie size is 12cm. Big! This is when the three textures really come through. The first nibble cracks with a bite releasing the wonderful warm flavours of butter and caramel. In the center is a 4cm softer ring.
Between these two zones the flavors mix delightfully. Use lots of chocolate. Use Dark Tulip for best effect and couverture because it melts better.The ratio of chocolate to dough should be 40 to 60.

3)The last secret is Salt. Not just any ordinary salt but sea salt in the dough and sprinkled on top adds tremendous effect to you cookie.

More information on other interesting cookies are available from the writer.If you serve it warm from a warming oven it can be sheer bliss.