5 excellent chocolate workshops for those with a sweet tooth

The bonbon-making workshop at À la Sophie Confectionery in Felsőtárkány can be a refined yet inspiring experience for those who want to not only taste chocolate but also understand it. In Zsófia Dimény-Barkóczi’s sweet empire, we learn step by step how to turn raw ingredients into distinctive, unique bonbons – with a few little tricks, attention to detail, and precision. The atmosphere in the workshop is calm and conducive to creativity; everyone works at their own pace, yet the event becomes a communal experience. By the end of the session, we will not only have made chocolate, but we will also understand why it is sometimes good to build with both hands, in silence, using materials and flavors. You can take the shiny, crunchy bonbons home with you in a decorative box – if they don’t get eaten on the way – but the real reward is the experience, which you can take with you.

The heavenly scent of chocolate wafts through the workshop of Csilla Földes in Balatonlelle all year round. A total of nearly a dozen different courses are available at CsilliChocobons – from beginner to advanced courses, from tastings to educational, hands-on workshops. If you want to try your hand at making chocolate, you can choose from 2-3 hour courses on making bonbons, chocolate bars, cognac cherries, and truffle balls. And if you want to delve deeper into the mysteries of tempering and polycarbonate molding, browse through our one-day courses!

An excellent choice for smaller groups, classes, or team building is the tasting-filled introductory session, during which we can get to know this heavenly ingredient, and at the end of this unusual lesson, the chocolate fountain makes its appearance. As a sweet ending to the program, we can dip fruit skewers into Belgian milk chocolate.

One of Hungary’s most unique chocolate shrines awaits sweet-toothed pilgrims in Sopron – this heavenly place is none other than the Hungarian workshop of the long-established Austrian Harrer confectionery dynasty, the Harrer Chocolate Workshop and Confectionery. Opened in 2009, the Sopron unit is not only a bonbon paradise, but also a real experience: in addition to tastings, it also houses a café and pastry shop with stunning views, where everything is truly about the love of chocolate.

Chocolate tastings are held daily in these magical spaces, where you can not only take a peek behind the scenes, but also embark on a journey of taste – from cocoa beans to “bean to bar” bars to creamy chocolate drinks, and everything in between. Tastings start at fixed times, but advance registration is required to participate.

If you want to learn the ins and outs of making bonbons, you will be in good hands at the Sweetic Chocolate Workshop in Szigetszentmiklós. Judit Zala and her husband Viktor have won more than fifty international professional awards during their nearly decade-long competitive career.

A tip from Hello Hungary: When visiting their shop in Szigethalom, the Sweetic Chocolate and Pop Bar, be sure to try their world-famous, world-champion beriolett–pistachio bonbons, as well as one of the finalists of the 2022 Great Taste Awards, the pisztácia ropogós (‘pistachio crunchy bar’)!

At Sweetic, however, you can not only taste but also learn: those who are seriously interested can take a peek into the world of chocolate making in beginner and advanced bonbon-making courses, but if you are coming with a larger group – such as a class or company team – choose the educational program combined with tasting, the CsokiCOOLtúra.  

Perhaps we don’t need to introduce Szerencsi Chocolate to anyone. However, few people know that by entering the factory, we too can become “chocolate makers”. As part of the interactive workshop, anyone from the youngest to the most interested can put on a pastry chef’s hat and try their hand at molding a bar of chocolate. The factory tour can be an exciting journey through time, during which we can glimpse behind the scenes of the famous chocolate production in Szerencs, learn about the history of the brand, and find out how cocoa beans are turned into sweets.

During the 90-minute workshop, we can step into the shoes of bonbon masters and make two bars of chocolate, decorate them, and take our own creations home with us. Tasting is also part of the interactive workshop. The factory in Szerencs can receive groups of up to 36 people. Advance registration is required for the session.