What’s the Difference Between a Chocolatier and a Chocolate Maker?

Two Professions, Two Roles

These two professions are often confused, yet they are fundamentally different.

The chocolate maker, referred to as a couverture chocolate maker when serving professionals, is the one who transforms cocoa beans into chocolate. They master all the key stages of production: sorting, roasting, grinding, conching, tempering. Their role is to produce a semi-finished chocolate, typically in pistole or block form, which is then used to create finished products.

The chocolatier, on the other hand, is a creative artisan. They purchase chocolate (often from a couverture maker) to design and craft their own products: ganaches, pralines, molded chocolates, confections, truffles, and more. They don’t make the chocolate, they work with it.

Raw Material vs. Final Creation

In other words:

• The chocolate maker creates the raw material.

• The chocolatier creates the finished product.

The two professions are complementary but operate at different stages of the process: one transforms the raw ingredient, the other shapes it.

Orfève’s Approach

At Orfève, we bring both worlds together: we transform cocoa beans ourselves to create chocolate bars ready to be enjoyed, with no intermediate processing.

Each step is designed to reveal the pure expression of the bean, from our workshop to your palate.