Who is the Chocolate Doctor?
For over two decades Kerry Beal has had a close relationship with chocolate and confectionery manufacturing.
From teaching to testing to consulting there is almost no aspect of the business that she is not familiar with.
Before introducing the EZtemper Kerry had gained valuable experience in planning, producing, marketing and distribution. She created a set of three professionally filmed DVDs. These DVDs teach the basics of chocolate tempering, molding and decorating of bonbons, production of three dimensional figurines and various other decorative techniques. From finding a suitable kitchen to hiring a professional videographer to the logistics of packaging and distribution, Kerry honed those skills necessary to bring a product to market.
Early on she understood the need for perfectly tempered chocolate as the basis for any high-quality chocolate product. To perfect her knowledge of the crystallization process she studied under Jean-Pierre Wybauw at the French Pastry School in Chicago. She also studied with another highly regarded chocolatier, Stephan Aerts, in Belgium.
She has taught dozens of students how to work with chocolate and has been instrumental in helping some of those students set up and run their own retail and/or wholesale chocolate business.
A chance remark by a novice confectioner spurred Kerry to explore the possibility of a workshop and conference on chocolate and confections for both novice and experienced participants. In partnership with Niagara College she planned, organized and brought to fruition a three day hands-on workshop and conference that attracted attendees from across the United States, Canada and Europe. This was so successful that it has been repeated in Niagara-on-the-Lake every other year since. Inspired by Kerry, other chocolatiers took up the challenge and organized workshops in various venues across the United States in alternate years.
With her strong science background, Kerry tutors Quality Assurance and Keeping Limits with Ecole Chocolat. The Ecole courses culminate in a Master's Course in various locations around the world. One of these courses was held at Valrhona in T'ain Hermitage, France in 2015. Kerry is well known for her ability to negotiate and overcome obstacles whether designing a new product or keeping a group of people safe and on track in a foreign country and so she was chosen to lead this class.
In her very well equipped chocolate lab, Kerry provides consultation services to small and medium sized chocolate and confectionery businesses. Kerry can demonstrate and teach hands-on almost anything from how to use a Selmi to how to test for available water activity in a product. She develops recipes and provides other consultation services for chocolate and confectionery businesses.
It was in this role as a consultant to small and medium sized businesses that Kerry recognized the need for an economical, easy and consistent way to produce a perfectly tempered chocolate product. The EZtemper evolved from her recognition of this need.
She hired a project engineer to assist in the design, production and testing of her first prototype and was able to go into full production in 2015.
From teaching to testing to consulting there is almost no aspect of the business that she is not familiar with.
Before introducing the EZtemper Kerry had gained valuable experience in planning, producing, marketing and distribution. She created a set of three professionally filmed DVDs. These DVDs teach the basics of chocolate tempering, molding and decorating of bonbons, production of three dimensional figurines and various other decorative techniques. From finding a suitable kitchen to hiring a professional videographer to the logistics of packaging and distribution, Kerry honed those skills necessary to bring a product to market.
Early on she understood the need for perfectly tempered chocolate as the basis for any high-quality chocolate product. To perfect her knowledge of the crystallization process she studied under Jean-Pierre Wybauw at the French Pastry School in Chicago. She also studied with another highly regarded chocolatier, Stephan Aerts, in Belgium.
She has taught dozens of students how to work with chocolate and has been instrumental in helping some of those students set up and run their own retail and/or wholesale chocolate business.
A chance remark by a novice confectioner spurred Kerry to explore the possibility of a workshop and conference on chocolate and confections for both novice and experienced participants. In partnership with Niagara College she planned, organized and brought to fruition a three day hands-on workshop and conference that attracted attendees from across the United States, Canada and Europe. This was so successful that it has been repeated in Niagara-on-the-Lake every other year since. Inspired by Kerry, other chocolatiers took up the challenge and organized workshops in various venues across the United States in alternate years.
With her strong science background, Kerry tutors Quality Assurance and Keeping Limits with Ecole Chocolat. The Ecole courses culminate in a Master's Course in various locations around the world. One of these courses was held at Valrhona in T'ain Hermitage, France in 2015. Kerry is well known for her ability to negotiate and overcome obstacles whether designing a new product or keeping a group of people safe and on track in a foreign country and so she was chosen to lead this class.
In her very well equipped chocolate lab, Kerry provides consultation services to small and medium sized chocolate and confectionery businesses. Kerry can demonstrate and teach hands-on almost anything from how to use a Selmi to how to test for available water activity in a product. She develops recipes and provides other consultation services for chocolate and confectionery businesses.
It was in this role as a consultant to small and medium sized businesses that Kerry recognized the need for an economical, easy and consistent way to produce a perfectly tempered chocolate product. The EZtemper evolved from her recognition of this need.
She hired a project engineer to assist in the design, production and testing of her first prototype and was able to go into full production in 2015.
