Meet Andrew
Chocolate is a way of life for Andrew Thwaite. He is never happier than when he is working with it, talking about it, learning about it or sharing his sweet skills with other people. He understands how to make a successful business out of it just as well as he knows how to tease your taste buds with it. His passion is enriching other people’s lives with chocolate and has done that successfully for more than 20 years and with some of the biggest names in the chocolate industry, such as Barry Callebaut, de Zaan, Keylink and many others. During his career he has been a manager, a strategist, a consultant and a teacher but above all has remained a natural-born chocolatier.
It all started when Andrew got hooked on chocolate after training to be a chef at Scarborough Technical College, although he first started cooking long before that. Patisserie was his passion, chocolate fascinated him from the start and he knew that this was something he wanted to progress beyond the hotel kitchen. Completely by chance he met Beverly Dunkley the now head of the UK Chocolate Academy, invitations to various courses and demonstrations followed which culminated in Andrew Taking up a position with Barry-Callebaut, the world’s largest manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa. During his time with the company Andrew got the opportunity to train with many of the world’s finest chocolatiers, relationships were formed which have shaped Andrew’s career to this day, Andrew takes up every opportunity to extend his knowledge and thrives on giving his all to whatever he is doing, whether it is a chocolate making demonstration, coming up with innovative new flavour combinations, or new decorative techniques.
Andrew has been fortunate to travel the world, meeting fellow chocolate professionals and visiting some of the best chocolatiers in the world, as well as cocoa plantations in Africa and Latin America and many chocolate factories around the world, he has even created his own signature milk chocolate. He takes inspiration from many sources, foods, places, exhibitions and many others. He visits exhibitions, trade fairs and enters competitions to ensure he stays bang up to date with current trends, ingredients, machinery, techniques and packaging. It is safe to say that Andrew literally lives and breathes chocolate, everything about it fascinates him, origins, history, harvesting and manufacture, his thirst for knowledge never stops.
Once Andrew starts talking about chocolate – whether he is giving sound business advice or a relaxed, chatty demonstration to the WI – the extent of his knowledge becomes clear. In fact, his friends joke that he is like a walking chocolate encyclopaedia and he is affectionately known as ‘Chocolate Andrew’. Although he is brilliant at talking, he is not all talk. Andrew’s technical skills are matched by an instinctive gift for chocolate. Watching him make chocolates is like watching an artist at work – it is captivating, and inspiring, with the added bonus that you get to taste the finished product, which is an experience in itself – always delicious, always distinctive, and always dazzling. He can turn his hand to anything; over the years he has made everything from large showpieces to custom designed bespoke chocolate ranges. His specialism is fresh ganaches and chocolates with high quality decorative techniques.
Andrew is now at a stage in his life where everything has come together and he is relishing the opportunity to experiment with new ideas – including launching his own Training and consultancy business under the name, Andrew Thwaite Chocolatier – and ‘give something back’ to the chocolate industry that has so positively influenced his life by teaching and training others in the art of chocolate work – for Andrew Thwaite the future is definitely chocolate!
In May 2021 Andrew purchased York Cookery School and in January 2023 he is relaunching the business as The Yorkshire Academy of Chocolate & Patisserie, a facility based in the North of England dedicated to professional training in patisserie, bakery, chocolate, sugar and ice-cream.
Andrew offers events, training and consultancy services including tasting and demonstrations, master classes and training for professional chocolatiers as well as advice about setting up and running your own chocolate business.
Relevant Professional qualifications
- Cocoa Barry chocolate training course
- Barry-Callebaut chocolate training course
- Barry-Callebaut shelf life & technical training course
- Tack international sales training course
- Society of Environmental Health basic food hygiene
- Society of environmental Health, health & safety course
- BIIAB National Certificate for personal license holders Level 2
- Barry-Callebaut Technical shelf life course
- Cocoa Barry Entremets’ dessert chocolate course
- Callebaut Academy Easter Showpiece course
- Callebaut Academy Science of chocolate centers course
- Callebaut Academy Signature chocolate development course
- Callebaut Academy Competition showpiece course
- Callebaut Academy Water Ganaches course
- Callebaut Academy extreme infusions course
- Zenith Hygiene COSHH Awareness course
- World Host principles of customer service
- Continuum Guest service charter course
- CIPD practical line management course
- St John Ambulance Fire Marshal Training
- Continuum Group Disciplinary & Dismissal training course
- City & guilds 706-1, 2 & 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery
- City & guilds 707-1 & 2 Food & Beverage Service
- City & guilds 717-1 Wines & Spirits
- City & guilds 711-1 & 2 Patisserie
- Scarborough Technical College Certificate Practical Cookery Higher Level
- City & guilds 7323 Foundation Certificate Teaching, Training and Development
- R.S.A French for Caterer’s
- College Hygiene Certificate
- East Midlands Further Education Council Pastry Diploma 1 & 2
- BIIAB National Certificate for personal license holders Level 2
- CIPD practical line management course
- TACK International sales training course
- Autism awareness course
- Dealing with epilepsy course
