Miriam G

All really great questions and points - thank you!! So the great thing about the particular place I saw yesterday, is that they are willing to give me my own reach-in fridge (no one else's smelly food!), and allow me to bring in any other refrigeration units I need to store my finished product. I will have a secure storage area as well, but I'm not sure if I can leave things plugged in. Good point and I'll have to ask. I will have to store finished product on premises there, because of the legal issues but also because my bonbons are going to be certified kosher so there's a whole other level of supervision and production/storage requirements. I am in New Jersey. I just spoke to someone at the Rutgers University Food Innovation Center who advised me about the labeling requirements, the allergen issues, etc. I also attended the Basics Seminar at the Fancy Food Show a couple of weeks ago, and they went over all that material. I need to get to work with my designer to get that on the packaging. How small can the print be? 😉 I was looking into insurance. In my research I found this, https://www.fliprogram.com/, which was looking promising. But do you have any other suggestions or tips on this issue?

No worries, Rajala! Kerry just told me yesterday about Cool Bot, https://www.storeitcold.com/product/coolbot-walk-in-cooler-controller/. It is indeed a pretty cool contraption. Is that the kind of thing you're looking for?

Thanks all for the feedback. Yes I know that tempering is very specific to the temps and crystallization of the chocolate itself. And adjusting up/down outside of certain parameters can't really solve the problem. But an instructor whose course I'm currently taking does advise that slight variances can be made to account for different air temperature conditions. I haven't experimented with this much, so I was wondering if anyone has experience in a 'real life' setting where this can actually be effective. I'm thinking I may ask the facility owner if I can do a trial run so I can better assess how bad (or not) the conditions are. Tri2Cook, I agree that spending money on bad conditions is not the right approach, but I'm also not likely to find ideal conditions in someone else's facility. That's why I think a trial might help answer the question. The idea to work at night is good from the perspective of having fewer people around and machines running. But I think it may cost me more, plus I have school-age kids at home and night is not ideal. I think compromise will be the name of the game here to figure out the right solution. Pastrygirl, the summer/winter price is a great idea. I appreciate everyone's input!!

Thank you, pastrygirl! That's very helpful. I hadn't thought about the granite or marble idea - great tip. I specifically asked for an area away from ovens and stoves, and the place I visited today was willing to accommodate that. So that's a plus! Do you do you adjust your tempering temps at all to compensate for the warmer air temperature?

Hello everyone, I am in the process of locating a commercial kitchen space to rent in order to produce my chocolates on a larger scale, for retail and wholesale. The challenge is that I have not been able to locate a space that has air conditioning or any kind of temperature control. Even if everything else in the facility is perfect, that's the one issue that keeps coming up. Can anyone provide guidance regarding the feasibility of working in a non temperature controlled space, and if there are any work arounds? I'd have full access to fridges, freezers, etc... Thanks in advance for any help or experiences you can share! Miriam

Hi Jim, If there are still some available, I'd be interested in purchasing. Many thanks, Miriam