Since 2001 - Manager
& Chocolatier, Confiseur
CHOCOLATS FRANÇOIS GIMENEZ - Pastry & Chocolate
2 établissements : Lyon & Champagne au Mont d’Or (69)
www.chocolats-francois.com
Chocolate factory
Creation and production of ganache and praline chocolates, spreads, personalised chocolates, etc.Confectionery
Creation and production of jams, fruit jellies, jellies and sweets, almond paste, etc.Creation of sugar specialities
Japanese Pearls, Beaujolais Grapes, Pearls of Light, Lyon Pralines Pearls, Hazelnut Pralines PearlsChoice, budgeting, installation and management of laboratories & workshops
Start-up and maintenance of equipment
Identification and improvement of performance: optimisation of stocks, reduction of costs
Search for raw materials: selection of cocoa, travel to South America, negotiation, import
Development of the brand and the company: opening of a second establishment (2013), partnerships and export to Japan (since 2015)
Management of up to 8 people (chocolate makers, pastry cooks): recruitment, training, management of staff, planning.
1999 - 2000 - Pastry Chef-Chocolatier
CHOCOLATERIE SWISS PASTRY, Ottawa (Canada)
Responsible for a team of 17 people
1992 - 1999 - Pastry Chef-Chocolatier
PATISSERIE & CHOCOLATERIE, Sainte-Hyacinthe (Canada)
Manager and responsible for a team of 24 people
1990 - 1992 - Pastry Chef-Chocolatier
PATISSERIE, CHOCOLATERIE, TRAITEUR ANTOINE NOURCY Quebec (Canada)
Responsible for a team of 24 people
1989 - 1990 - Pastry chef-Chocolate
PATISSERIE, CHOCOLATERIE GABRIEL PAILLASSON Saint-Fons (69)
Chocoaching,a combination of knowledge, know-how,
and exchange of best practices at your service
2020 - CREATION OF CHOCOACHING
Conseil, accompagnement et formation aux entreprises de la création du produit à sa mise en production
Chocoaching / audits
- Product creation (R&D): chocolates & confectionery
- Organisation, rationalisation of production workshops, selection, purchase and installation of equipment
- (Enrobeuses : Sollich, Buhler, Selmi, Savy-Goiseau, Moulins à billes, Turbines Rollermac, etc.)
Chocoaching / training & support
- Cocoa selection and importation
- Field trips to local producers according to the specifications
- Demonstration
- Staff training (alone or in teams)
- Rationalisation of costs
2014 - "CACAO EXPERT" TRAINING
by Michel Barel
CIRAD, University of Cocoa in Montpellier (France)
2014 - BEST WORKERS OF FRANCE COMPETITION
Semi-finalist, Finalist
2011 - TRAINING for chocolate makers
Seoul and Busan (South Korea)
2007 - Best workers of France competition
Semi-finalist, Finalist
1990/2020 - Pastry and chocolate maker and company manager
1979 - Baccalaureate F3 Electrotechnics option Electromechanics
Lycée Diderot in Lyon (France)
References
Samuel Bize, expert in R&D and tempering/chocolate manufacturing (Nestlé)
Frédéric Menguy, expert in production and sugar-coating (Peru)
Chocoaching,a desire to pass on and make you succeed
The practice of languages (French, Spanish, operational English) and my professional experience are not enough. Chocoaching is also a way for me to transmit this "French know-how".
Pedagogical and perfectionist, I seek above all to provide solutions while always remaining result-oriented.
Mobileinternationally, I am able to adapt to the size of your company and to your multiple problems.
So let's talk about it together.
Professional questionEverything you always wanted to know about ganache
A ganache is an intimate mixture of fats provided by the chocolate and water provided by the cream or milk or possibly fruit pulp. A ganache is an emulsion like "mayonnaise": stable, elastic, shiny and slowly crystallising.
It is important to ensure that the hot cream is poured over the melted chocolate and the cocoa butter cream, avoiding exceeding 34°C in the final mixture. This will leave stable crystals in the chocolate, and will induce the development of a homogeneous matrix during the cooling phase. The method is good if it is well controlled and always quite difficult to reproduce exactly. Care must be taken with the temperature of the mixture, in no case should it exceed the temperature at which the cocoa butter crystals in the chocolate could overcool.
There are many problems associated with the production of ganaches and professionals often try to find a solution to them. Among others: What are the sources of contamination? Why do some ganaches go mouldy? How can the balance of a ganache be established using Quantara software? How to determine the shelf life? How to make a success of chablonnage, pouring and coating? What are the regulations for these products?
