Experience at Termalimex Workshop: Martín Andino
I had the incredible opportunity to attend the workshop on Termalimex, focused on dessert creation, as Andrea López's assistant, Corporate Chef of República del Cacao. The event took place at the facilities of Termalimex, where they provided us with support with their high-end equipment and advanced technology. The objective of the workshop was to explore new techniques and sophisticated recipes, especially when working with the best chocolate from República del Cacao.
Before starting, I was full of enthusiasm and curiosity to learn new ways of working with chocolate, and my expectations were high, as I knew that Chef Andrea always brings innovation and creativity to her classes. Furthermore, the opportunity to use Termalimex's equipment promised a professional and effective experience.
The workshop began with Andrea explaining the steps to follow while the students took notes on the details needed to make two recipes. For the first dessert, we prepared a chocolate custard mousse with raspberries in donut molds provided by Termalimex, along with a chocolate sablé to hold the mousse in place. For the second dessert, we made a financier—a hazelnut butter cake with nuts—which also used Termalimex molds, a 75% Amazonia chocolate entremets ganache from República del Cacao, and a 31% white chocolate stamp.
Throughout the workshop, Andrea led the classes while I assisted her and, at the same time, learned. Thanks to Termalimex's advanced equipment, we managed to finish on time and obtain perfect results, as their blast chiller ultracools, allowing the mousses to be unmolded impeccably without needing to wait. The students were delighted with the experience alongside Andrea López, and with the class's interest, more and more questions arose.
In the end, preparing these two desserts allowed me to learn techniques that bring them to a professional level, using cocoa as the main ingredient, a proudly Ecuadorian product that adds unique flavors and textures to desserts, allowing for infinite creativity.
I am very grateful to República del Cacao for this opportunity to get to know our Ecuadorian cocoa better and to work alongside Andrea López, one of the best chefs I know. I also thank Termalimex for offering the country equipment that once seemed unattainable, but is now here, available for achieving professional results.
Martin Andino
Kitchen Assistant
Republic of Cocoa
