Apprentice Chocolate Maker

About the Role

Dandelion Chocolate is seeking an Apprentice Chocolate Maker to join their production team at the 16th Street Factory in San Francisco. This full-time role involves learning and performing all aspects of bean-to-bar chocolate making, with a focus on scaling up production processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Production: Learn and execute all chocolate-making steps, including sorting cocoa beans, roasting, winnowing, starting batches, refining and conching, tempering, grinding, foiling, wrapping, and labeling bars.
• Describe factory processes and procedures to visitors.
• R&D and Quality: Taste and evaluate chocolate bars for flavor and quality.
• Identify the country of origin for at least 7 different chocolate bars blindly.
• Actively participate in Continuing Chocolate Education classes.
• Sanitation & Maintenance: Clean and maintain the production facility and machines.
• Assist with tasks such as washing bar molds and bins, sweeping, and using the bucket washer.
• Operate all chocolate machines safely and follow their SOPs and procedures.
• Teamwork: Collaborate with the team to meet daily production goals with a positive attitude.
• Guest Facing: Maintain a welcoming presence for factory visitors and film crews.
• Perform other necessary tasks, showing curiosity and a willingness to help.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Weekend Availability: 40 hours per week, including one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday).
• Positive Outlook: Maintain a healthy perspective and positivity, even with shifting priorities or equipment issues.
• Kitchen Know-how: Prior experience in a commercial kitchen or production facility is preferred, especially working with a team.
• Comfort with repetitive tasks.
• Physical Aptitude: Ability to remain on feet for most of the day, occasionally lift objects up to 50 pounds, and perform tasks requiring fine and gross motor skills (standing, bending, squatting, using hands).
• Must be comfortable working with machinery.
• Willingness to adapt to changing processes and work both independently and collaboratively.

Qualifications

• Eagerness to learn about chocolate.
• Positive attitude.
• Enjoys getting hands dirty.
• Preferred: Experience in the food and beverage/culinary or manufacturing industry.

Compensation & Benefits

• Starts at $27.75/hour with an increase after training.
• Heavily subsidized medical, vision, and dental benefits.
• Option to enroll in a 401k program.
• Paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time.
• Commuter benefits.
• FSAs.
• Chocolate tasting opportunities.
• Opportunities for growth and development within the company.