Chocolatier Steven ter Horst is passionate about sharing his food knowledge – in fact, he will share everything except his recipe for salted caramel.

“That I developed over many years, so no one gets to see that!”

His desire to develop a food appreciation culture in Adelaide has led to a new venture – chocolate master-classes held in his “chocolate boardroom” at the new Steven ter Horst Chocolatier store on the east end of Rundle Street.

A long wooden table and dimmed lights create an ambiance in this special tasting space.

“Try this!” he says, handing me a thin piece of dark chocolate couverture (a very high-quality chocolate rich in cocoa butter). “Can you taste the cinnamon?”

I could; it was distinct.

“And, now this one. These two Vietnamese-grown chocolates have the same three ingredients, but distinctly different flavours.”

He tells InDaily he decided to hold the tasting sessions so people could gain a better understanding of his product and chocolate in general. ter Horst says it’s also a good opportunity for people to meet the chocolate makers and “understand that this is not a franchise business, but a local business run by [someone who is] SA-born and bred”.

Those taking part in the session can expect to taste cocoa mass and cocoa nibs, as well as all the couvertures the chocolatiers work with in their studio and some single-origin samples.

The average person can train their palette to appreciate fine chocolate, ter Horst says.

“The fun part about tasting chocolates is that everyone’s palate is different, but most of our single origins are selected with a strong individuality.

“People’s tastes have been changing recently and they are far more excited to try new and unusual things.

“This is an exciting time for chocolate!”