Chocolate for Schools
School Workshops
We have been delivering chocolate workshops with schools for over 10 years, with a whole range of chocolate knowledge to share, we have shaped this into a range of activities that we offer at York Cocoa Works for visitors of all ages
Journey of a Cocoa Bean
Explore the origins of cocoa, it’s celebration by the Mayans and Aztec people and its journey to Europe. We'll taste cocoa beans as we explore the physical transformation that evolved over 2000 years of consumption from raw cacao beans, roasted cocoa nibs, cocoa mass to dark chocolate and eventually milk chocolate.
Price: £14.50 per person
Duration: 1 hour
Capacity: from 16 - 64 students
The Art of the Chocolatier
We'll explore the tempering process required to work with chocolate, before participants create their own chocolate treat that can be decorated how they choose that they can wrap up and take home.
Price: £14.50 per participant
Duration: 1 hour
Capacity: 16 - 64 participants
History of Chocolate and Hot Chocolate
Discover the history of chocolate with a particular focus on the role that hot chocolate has played throughout history.
Price: £14.50
Duration: 1 hour
The Science of Chocolate Making
First, we will explore chocolate using all of our senses to see how they affect the way we enjoy it. Then, we look at how chocolate changes when it’s tempered, and learn the right way to work with it so we can make our own chocolate bars.
Price: £14.50 per person
Duration: 1 Hour and 30 minutes
Capacity: 16 - 64 guests
The Business of Chocolate Making
Join us on this four hour bean to bar workshop! Learn about how chocolate is immersed in debates surrounding sustainability, ethics and economics.
Price: £62.50 per person
Duration: 3 hours and 45 minutes
How to Book
We are looking forward to welcoming you and your school group to the York Cocoa Works, the four steps below explain how our booking process works!
Frequently asked questions
For groups of less than 8 participants the easiest option is book a place on our publicly available program of workshops. This will give you maximum selection of available times.
If you would still like an exclusive booking then the cost for a minimum of 8 participants on your chosen activity will be applicable.
If you find your numbers drop below the minimum number we will give you a couple of options, we can move your booking to an open workshop or open up bookings on the workshop to invite additional participants to take part.
Absolutely!
Every occasion has a different chocolate celebration in mind, we're happy to help you build your own chocolate experience (within reason).
Pick your preferred main activity or workshop from those listed, when you select your preferred date and time you will be asked to pay a deposit, upon check out let us know a bit more about the other elements you would like to add onto your booking, add a chocolate tour, platter of cakes, hot chocolate, something sparkling. Let us know and we can share our menu and add on your preferred elements.
Don't worry, we understand plans and people can be difficult to pin down. At this stage we ask you to pay a deposit to reserve your preferred date and time in our diary, allowing you to make your plans and work out who's joining you.
We will ask for an update on numbers approximately 3 weeks before your workshop which you can do by visiting your booking portal or by emailing our team.
Your final balance will be based on who you've confirmed is coming at that stage.
Your Chocolate Workshop will be held in a space that is exclusively for the use of your party. In some instances this is our Chocolate Academy where our hands-on activities take place.
Some of our activities like our Chocolate Indulgence and Tasting experiences take place in our open spaces, however you will have your own chocolate tutor and private table in these spaces.
Absolutely!
It's really important to us that we can welcome and look after all chocolate lovers, that's why we built an open and transparent chocolate factory!
Please check out our guidance on how we cater for Dietary Requirements and pass this detail on to your participants so they can have some peace of mind and inform us accordingly.
We kindly ask you to let us know if you have any dietary requirements in your party at least 48 hours ahead of your workshop so we can ensure they can be catered for.
You can share this information with us via the Booking Portal or via email.
We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing a cake!
But we can bring a piece of Brownie and a candle for the Birthday guy/gal.
We know that sounds not very celebratory, but we find that after all of the chocolate from our workshops and celebrations that there is little space for more cake and we hate seeing things go to waste! We also have to manage your booking for dietary requirements and often find many allergens in store-bought items.
We hope you understand the complexities our team navigate in these circumstances.
Some of our spaces lend themselves better to these types of experiences than others.
You are welcome to bring a banner or balloons to decorate the space, we would advise one of your party joins us about 30 minutes prior to your booking to implement any decorations like this. We ask that you do not bring confetti or small decorative items that could end up in the chocolate or be difficult to clear and that all items are taken away following your workshop.
This depends how far in advance your plans need to change.
We will do our best to accommodate tweaks in timings and numbers as much as possible. Please be aware that our weekend sessions do book up months in advance making amendments not always as flexible as we would like.
Cancellations made within 2 weeks of your booking are not eligible for refunds.
Please refer to our Group Bookings Terms and Conditions for more specific information.
If in doubt please do get in touch and we will endeavour to support you as best we can.