Experience

Dr.Choc Consulting LLC

• United States
• Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• President

  • Oct 2021 - Present

  After over 30 years of supporting the food and chocolate industries, I thought it was time to start my own consulting company. Therefore, I am excited to debut my company, Dr. Choc Consulting! What is Dr. Choc Consulting all about? I am passionate about helping customers create, optimize and scale-up their products for their consumers. I love to help food manufacturers with chocolate but my experience also includes sugar confectionery, bakery, ganache and many other formulation types. Therefore, I am excited to leverage all my expertise and skills with all confections, pastries and baked goods segments. My background and experience includes being a classically trained pastry chef and also my scale-up and equipment/ production training. My consulting services include: New product development and recipe creation Production support and trouble-shooting Product training – factory floor or class-room style Consultations on equipment and production processes I love helping my clients achieve their successes! Message me with your next challenge and opportunity! Cheers, Laurent



Barry Callebaut Group

• Switzerland
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Sr. Director, Technical Services and Technology Innovation-PDI

  • Mar 2021 - Nov 2021

  Summary Job Description:• Lead all technical services initiatives for the NA region, including on-site customer training, production support and troubleshooting needs. This role is a true connector between the company and customer and brings technical credibility to the entire customer base, including all Corporate Accounts, all FM food manufacturers and all gourmet customers. This role also supports internal technical chocolate training and production site support, including consultation for customer product launches and production issues. • As PDI leader of technology innovations, this role is a critical team member of the PDI team, continually supporting all new product launches with on-site support, especially with new lines and equipment. This role works closely with the marketing and commercial team of how to bring to life and scale up new products initiated by the innovation process. This role would also support the GM’s at each of the three PDI factories with customer specific scale-up of challenging or new products. This role would lead the “PDI Continuous Improvement Program” continually bringing ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency to the GM’s at each respective PDI production site.

• Director, R&D Technical Services & Applications

  • Dec 2013 - Feb 2021

• Technical Services and Applications Manager

  • May 2007 - Nov 2013

  My responsibility is in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.I manage the Technical Services team for the Americas. This team and I support all technical product requirements for the Food Manufacturing Division, including Corporate Accounts and FM/Regional as well as the majority of the Gourmet customers, including Key Accounts. These technical product requirements include all customer trouble-shooting and plant issues along with all application and training requirements for customer visits, on-site (Academy) and off-site.I manage and execute all product research projects, proactive and customer requested, which includes all Van Leer branded research projects (FM/ Corporate Accounts). I drive profitable company growth and revenue due to my successful management and execution of all Mona Lisa technical decoration projects, both proactive, internally driven along with customer requested projects. On request of customers, I advise on application and choice of the applicable product range, or design a product. Solve all application problems (Trouble Shooting), in the application of chocolate, coatings, compounds, fillings, decorations, and evaluate claims from the customers.To advise and make recommendations to the sales and research and development team on technical and application matters.To ensure that a long-term application service is maintained and reviewed with all customers by regular contact between the customer. To provide applications, or other technical guidance within the company.To maintain a good working relationship, (to give or appropriate knowledge as necessary, regarding products, equipment, and application information) with other factory’s/ personnel within the group.To Cover Uneliver worldwide on a technical and trouble shooting basis, along with other corporate accounts, such as Nestle, Kellogg, Mondelez as examples.To provide training for the technical assistance team and R&D teams for BC Americas.

• Technical Services and Application Manager

  • Sep 1998 - Apr 2007

  Employed as the Technical Services and Applications Manager and I am also the Head of the Chocolate Academy in the UK. My role covers the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Far East with my main responsibilities being to support the sales force on applications advice for industrial and gourmet, trouble shooting, advising customers on which chocolate is most suited for their applications, investments, process & product improvement including recipe optimisation for customers requirement and solving application related complaints. I am also in charge of the day to day running of the Chocolate Academy i.e. organising courses and technical support to the chefs.



Ackermans Chocolate

• Factory Manager

  • May 1995 - Mar 1998

  Ackerman’s has been going strong for over 50 years and stand at the top of English chocolate makers. They currently have one shop in Swiss Cottage and concessions in Selfridges and Bentalls. The products can also be found in the smarter retailers around London, and as far field as America and the Middle East. A mail order service is also available. Her Majesty the Queen and Her Mum have bestowed their Warrant on Ackerman’s exquisite sweets since 1961. I was employed as Production Manager and had a wide range of responsibilities within production and packaging. Some of my duties included motivation of staff (production and packaging departments)/recruitment/supervision of production departments/night shifts, analysis of orders, hygiene, new product development, maintenance of machines/equipment, quality control, Health and Safety, implementation of time sheets and other production/packaging paperwork, training. I managed around 40 staff during the summer and 80 in the winter when the production reaches its peak. In my two years Ackerman’s increase 500 thousand to 3, 5 million pounds.



Maison Blanc Limited, London

• Executive Chef

  • Sep 1989 - Apr 1995

  Maison Blanc is a French Pâtisserie of very high standards with strict quality control. They currently have one shop in Oxford, one in Chichester and six in London. The factory supplies cakes for many catering events, such as Wimbledon, Ascot and Grand Prix at Silverstone. The pâtisserie also supplies numerous hotels in London and in early 1995 British Airways were added to the customer list along with a range of frozen cakes. I started as Pâtissier in the pastry department. In 1990 I was promoted to Chef de Partie and in 1991 I became Sous Chef. I was then responsible for the running of all sections within the pâtisserie, i.e. from sponge area to finished product. Due to some problems in the Viennoiserie department in May 1992, I was transferred to that department to re-organise and improve the procedures. After having completed my work there I went back to working in the pâtisserie as Product Manager. My responsibilities included developing and tasting a new range of cakes every 3 months, supervision of around 95 staff and the daily running of the Viennoiserie and pâtisserie department. The factory moved from Witney, Oxon to brand new premises in London in May 1995. I was very much involved in the setting up of the new factory, and took part in many decisions regarding how the factory could be more cost-effective and ways to make the actual production run more efficiently.