The School of Chocolate: An Over-the-Top Triumph of Creativity and Skill on Netflix
Chefs have long been equal parts entertainers and educators on television. School of Chocolate on Netflix is the latest culinary reality show and a perfect example of both. Top pastry chefs and chocolatiers are taken under the wing of world-renowned chocolatier and instructor, Amaury Guichon. Guichon is a sensation on social media with over 4 million Instagram followers, 200 million views, and a pastry school, The Pastry Academy in Las Vegas. The contestants are not amateurs but rather seasoned professionals, some of whom have won awards for their creations and some who are pastry instructors themselves.
The Series Format
For the first season the format of each episode is a familiar one with a pair of challenges. Initially each contestant is given a short pastry challenge where they have only a few hours to produce a plated dessert on their own. After a team critique, the winners of that challenge break into teams for the major challenge the next day, which is a chocolate-only showpiece. The “school” concept is in full force, as the bottom 2 chefs from the first round do not participate in the team challenge but instead get individual coaching from Guichon. Unlike other reality shows there are no eliminations of contestants who battle it out for a grand prize based on their cumulative performance.
At the conclusion of each episode Guichon picks his “Best in Class,” which is based on his personal evaluation of the contestant’s performances. The ultimate winner of the series gets a prize package valued at $100,000 that includes teaching a class at Guichon’s Pastry Academy in Las Vegas, and $50,000 to start or boost their own business.
School of Chocolate episode one photo courtesy Netflix
How over-the-top chocolate showpieces are made
The show features over-the-top showpieces made entirely from chocolate and details how they are made, something that you rarely see on television. It’s less gimmicky for a reality TV show and much more about skills and the “wow factor” that comes from seeing world-class chefs perfecting their craft. As Guichon himself says in the first episode, “it’s about innovation.” Techniques are featured that take chocolate work to a truly impressive level.
The combination of intriguing personalities, creativity, and competition keeps things interesting. The challenge with all cooking shows is that as a viewer, you can’t taste the creations, you can only look and admire them, yet in this show you see the contestants eat their confections and chat amongst themselves. You also get the requisite teary phone calls home, serious kitchen accidents, cheering from the sidelines, good and bad hairstyles, cattiness, and mini meltdowns.
Pastry Chefs in the Spotlight
“Chocolate is a beautiful and treacherous mistress sometimes” – Amaury Guichon
While Las Vegas hotels and high-end restaurants still employ pastry chefs, for several years they have been referred to as a “dying breed.” As restaurants have sought to minimize labor and operation costs the position of pastry chef is frequently eliminated and restaurants turn to outside suppliers or homier more rustic style desserts that are less expensive and labor intensive.
Top pastry chefs sometimes open bakeries but rarely do they get the accolades and attention that savory chefs do. Personalities like Anthony Bourdain made being a chef cool, could glamorizing the chocolatier and pastry chef profession and wowing viewers help boost their image? Or perhaps it’s just a great holiday season binge watch. Either way, we are already looking forward to the next season!