Commercial kitchen for chocolate production - temperature challenges

[Miriam G]

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

[pastrygirl]

During summer I plan my chocolate production around the coolest days of the week and start early so I can work while the kitchen is coolest.  Get in by 5 or 6 am and be done by noon.

 

Look for some remnants of marble or granite that are about the size of a sheet pan and will fit in your fridge to chill.  Having a cold surface to work on can really help.  Also use the fridge to cool molds rapidly.

 

In shared kitchens you have to work around others.  Is someone going to turn on all the ovens, the fryer, and a big pot of blanching water right next to your workstation?  Try to avoid that!

[Miriam G]

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?

[Tri2Cook]

I understand completely that sometimes you do what you have to do but I think I would find it very difficult to convince myself to rent a space for chocolate work where I have no control over the temperature. As I'm sure you're well aware, trying to do chocolate work in temps too far above or below ideal can be an exercise in frustration and I don't want to pay somebody a bunch of money to be frustrated. But as pastrygirl said above, you can find ways to make it work if your situation requires it. I wasn't doing chocolate work in the sense being discussed here but at a former restaurant where I worked, I was working with chocolate on a somewhat regular basis for desserts and catering jobs and that kitchen was always much hotter than ideal in the summer. So I generally wound up trying to schedule most of the summer chocolate work I needed to do for one or two nights and I'd stay until very late in the night when the equipment was off and the kitchen had time to cool down and then get it done as quickly as possible so I could at least put in an appearance at home before the next day's work began. Which leads to another possible option, have you looked into a space that would allow you to come in during their down time at night to do your thing?

[keychris]

1 hour ago, Miriam G said:

Do you do you adjust your tempering temps at all to compensate for the warmer air temperature?

 

That's not really how tempering works. If the air is warmer, you can't make the temperatures in the chocolate cooler to compensate. You just have to use other tricks to remove the excess heat from the chocolate, like using the fridge for moulds  - after all, that's what the cool room temperature is doing.

 

Unless you meant something different, then you can ignore this 😛

[pastrygirl]

Oh, it's frustrating, for sure.  My last kitchen was a restaurant and was generally fine in the morning but my back prep area would heat up 10 degrees F  plus if any hot cooking was on.  But it got sold and I had to move.  My new kitchen doesn't cool down as easily because there is so much refrigeration - the walk-in vents into the room instead of to outside, and there are 2 more reach-in fridges, a blast chiller, and like 8 freezers.  But it is convenient to home, a reasonable price for more space than other commissaries, there are no stinky savory companies, and the main tenant is an ice cream maker who shuts down over the winter.  So it should be cool enough and I should have the place almost to myself October-April.  Not perfect, but seemed like the best option for now.  We negotiated a summer price and a winter price, so I can break even doing a few weddings in the summer and he'll get a nice winter bonus when I'm busy.

Edited July 18, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[Tri2Cook]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

But it is convenient to home, a reasonable price for more space than other commissaries, there are no stinky savory companies, and the main tenant is an ice cream maker who shuts down over the winter.  So it should be cool enough and I should have the place almost to myself October-April.  Not perfect, but seemed like the best option for now.  We negotiated a summer price and a winter price, so I can break even doing a few weddings in the summer and he'll get a nice winter bonus when I'm busy.

Sounds pretty nice to me. If you can get the environment you need to do what you need to do, that's all that really matters.

[pastrygirl]

20 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Sounds pretty nice to me. If you can get the environment you need to do what you need to do, that's all that really matters.

 

Nice overall, but the overnight lows in there are upper 70's and it gets into the 90's on a sunny day.  I tried to stock up before I moved but I may very well run out of product and not be able to make more for several weeks. 

[Miriam G]

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!!

 

 

[Rajala]

Anyone got any experience with AC/Humidity "hardware" to get the perfect temperature and humidity for chocolate? I'm thinking how much running things like that will increase the electric bill. Probaby quite a bit if you have it running 24/7 and even more during summer?

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread Miriam.   

[Miriam G]

38 minutes ago, Rajala said:

Anyone got any experience with AC/Humidity "hardware" to get the perfect temperature and humidity for chocolate? I'm thinking how much running things like that will increase the electric bill. Probaby quite a bit if you have it running 24/7 and even more during summer?

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread Miriam.   

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?

[pastrygirl]

A trial run is a good idea.  You may need to pay for a day of use, maybe you can offer to pay and have it applied to rent if you take the space? 

 

A couple more things to consider - if you have melters, temperers, etc will you be able to leave them plugged in overnight without being disturbed or in the way? 

 

Will your refrigeration be shared with savory companies, like one big walk-in, or do you get your own reach-in?  If shared, consider an enclosed speed rack to try to keep odors out. 

 

Where will you store your finished product?  I make bars, truffles, and caramels, all of my bars and caramels usually live in my back bedroom but they are in the basement for the summer.  I keep my truffles and bonbons refrigerated or frozen to extend shelf life.  Keeping things at home is not technically legal, I should have a separate fridge and an inspection as a 'food storage facility' but hey, things are wrapped and I live alone, and it's much more convenient to not have to run to the kitchen and grab two chocolate bars to fill a website order.  I promise there's no raw chicken dripping on anything

 

Do you already have all your licenses, insurance, packaging and labeling?  The kitchen will want you to have liability insurance so you don't burn the place down, and some events will also ask for a certificate of insurance.  Packaging and labeling are a whole other nightmare  job.  Where are you?  In the US, you need to label for the top 8 allergens (wheat, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish) and you can't claim 'gluten free' if it is not a certified gluten free facility (that may be a local city or county rule but it makes sense).  You don't need nutrition labeling under (IIRC) 100k units/yr, and you don't need barcodes unless retailers ask for them.  But you may want to consider now where they'll fit on your packaging should you decide to add them later. 

[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?  

[Rajala]

2 hours ago, Miriam G said:

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?

 

I'm thinking more of the overall cost of running AC and whatever is needed to keep the right temperature and humidity. I got an idea that I should have a shop or something, some time, and I'm just thinking about all the costs to have some kind of budget so I know where I'll end up.  

[pastrygirl]

17 minutes ago, Miriam G said:

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?  

 

The print can be pretty small, 6 or 7 point depending on the font.  You can download the food labeling guide here: https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm2006828.htm

Basically you have to say what it is, net weight, who made it, list ingredients, and declare allergens.  Tree nuts should be specified - contains almonds, hazelnuts, etc.

 

That insurance policy looks like a good deal, I pay around $500/yr, went with a local company who was known to work with small businesses. 

 

The nice thing about commissaries is having a community of other small businesses facing the same issues. 

[Jim D.]

I have FLIP insurance, $299 per year. It gets good reviews, but unfortunately it's one of those things in life where you don't know whether it's good or bad until you try to use it.

[Miriam G]

That is helpful to know.  Thanks, Jim.   And yes, you never know until you need to use it...

[Rajala]

Anyone running a chocolate/pastry business that could tell me how much electricity you use per month? I'm thinking like if you have a smaller kitchen with a oven, a couple of fridges and freezers. We use kWh in Europe, not sure if it's measured the same way in North America? PM works if you don't want to mention things like that publicly.  

[JeanneCake]

I have 1200 square feet of space, a 10x8 walk in cooler, a two door reach in freezer and a single door reach in freezer and a 5 foot pastry case.  In the winter, my electricity bill is about 400-500 per month; in the summer when we are running the a/c it is about 900 per month.  I shut off the pastry case when we are closed Sun-Mon-Tues.  I have an 80 gallon hot water heater, well, I think it's 80 gallons, I'll have to check.