00:01A professional chocolate tester.
00:04Is this really a job?
00:07Imagine waking up every morning knowing that your job is to taste chocolate.
00:11Not just eat it, but analyze it and understand it.
00:16It's simply a dream job.
00:18Working every day with such beautiful raw materials and products.
00:24François Stahl works at a chocolate factory in Switzerland.
00:27But how does someone even end up in such a profession?
00:33I trained as a pastry chef and chocolatier,
00:36and later moved into luxury gastronomy,
00:39working with Michelin-starred establishments,
00:41where I learned the art of pure indulgence.
00:45For François, chocolate is more than a sweet indulgence.
00:48It's his life's work.
00:50As head of research and development at Halba,
00:53François leads a team of nine certified tasters.
00:56They're part of an elite group of around 100 professional chocolate testers in Switzerland.
01:02So what does the job involve?
01:04Before we make a purchase, we receive a sample.
01:08It's tested and then classified, and only the best cocoa is bought.
01:15The team includes trained confectioners, chocolatiers and former pastry chefs.
01:21Their work involves blind tastings that test their refined palates.
01:27It really tastes like fruit, like berries.
01:31Delicate notes of forest berries, cassis.
01:34Very fruity, passion fruit.
01:37Also a lot of dried fruits.
01:39For me, it's perfect.
01:41Next comes quality control.
01:44The chocolate testers must evaluate every piece against strict standards.
01:48To keep the evaluation completely objective, visual impressions are eliminated.
01:54This way, only taste counts.
01:56It's a process that demands intense focus and experience.
02:02Professional tasting aside, how can the average person spot an exceptional bar of chocolate compared to an ordinary one?
02:13You can tell by the appearance if it's nicely molded.
02:17It should have beautiful layers and an attractive color that really stands out.
02:22Then you hear that crisp snap.
02:25And you know it has a perfect crunch and a filling that melts delicately.
02:30Once the sensory team approves a recipe, the process moves forward towards mass production.
02:37But how do you land a job like this?
02:40At Halba, once hired, additional training lasts six months.
02:44A panelist must have excellent sensory perception, no health issues like allergies, and they have to pass a sensory aptitude
02:52test.
02:52So what's essential before a chocolate tasting?
02:57It's always important to keep neutralizing with water.
03:00We use warm water.
03:02It also helps dissolve the fat in the mouth and achieve the best neutralization.
03:07That's definitely the most important thing.
03:10It's definitely important not to eat anything too spicy before a tasting.
03:15And not to wear strong perfume.
03:17Otherwise the whole room ends up smelling like fragrance.
03:23If I have a cold, then my sense of taste isn't the same.
03:27It's limited, and so there's no point of doing a taste testing.
03:32And with an average salary of about 60,000 euros per year, are there any downsides to this job?
03:40I really only see advantages, because I get to taste very fine chocolate every day.
03:46The downside might be that sometimes it's a bit too much of a good thing.
03:50There are days full of tastings, but you balance that out with a little variety, something salty to reset.
03:58And how would Francois rate his job overall?
04:03On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate my job at 10+.
04:10If you're a chocolate lover, what a sweet way to spend your day.
04:14You
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