RMCF- The World of Chocolate
I work at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which as I realized after doing the post card activity has many words that I would not have any clue what they mean, but gradually over time the register of the chocolate world has come to involve nicknames, candy definitions, cooking terms, and processes that are so familiar I sometimes forget how awkward it must sound to hear someone say “Stock the dark bears and temper the dipper.”
The first thing every employee learns is the definition of the word “BEAR.” This large chocolate, caramel, and nut mixture is also synonymous with a “turtle.” But, since we are the rocky mountain chocolate factory, we call it a bear (as there are limited times when you may see a turtle in the Rocky Mountains). This is one of those terms that not only marks insider status for the employees but for frequent customers as well who refer to all of our candies by their franchise name and have no hesitation in asking for “6 milk pecan bears.” New customers totally give themselves away when they come in still looking for turtles.
Another unfamiliar phrase is “tempering the dippers.” This simply means that the chocolate in our giant revolving bowls that we use to dip things in must be cooled down to 89 degrees. Otherwise (and here’s another term) the chocolate will “bloom” or turn white. It’s like when you accidentally get that really old candy from the grocery store or from the old lady on Halloween who has kept her free chocolates from the previous year and it is all white and splotchy… If the chocolate is at any other temperature than 89 degrees, this will be the result.
With so many chocolates in the store, there has to be some way to tell them all apart. Each chocolate has something called a signature, which contrary to the everyday definition of signing your name, also means that there is a swirl, design or distinct shape that a piece of chocolate has in order to tell it apart. Each employee has to know the signature for each piece of chocolate in the store.
The more I write this piece, the more I see that when I am trying to describe an unfamiliar word or phrase I am tempted to use more unfamiliar words in the attempt to define the first words. It’s crazy to me to think that something as simple as a chocolate store has so many words that seem so strange when taken out of context, but if you’re here, it sounds stupid if you use any other sort of description. It’s like when I go to a foreign restaurant, even just Chinese or Italian, and I see something on the menu that I know I would never be able to pronounce.
I usually don’t try to; I point or say “that pompadora thing,” or “the sesame thingy with the chicken.” I now realize that those people are probably laughing at me the minute I turn around because they are so used to the words,. It is similar to when I laugh at people when I ask them if they want milk, white, or dark chocolate and they reply “light” which is none of the above, yet for some reason they feel more comfortable saying “light.” It’s very interesting to me how quickly you can become an insider or an outsider even when we all seemingly speak the same language.
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3 comments:
I learned a lot about chocolate/candy terminology from your blog! I actually enjoyed learning the about the different terms used for things like old chocolate, unique mixtures of candy to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factor, and what people say when they don't understand the correct way to say things. I can relate to this because I am currently a barista at The Human Bean and people will come in and sputter out coffee terms that don't even make sense when they are said together. It's hard to correct customers at times without seeming rude. I did have one question though, how did you become "fluent" with Rocky Mountain Chocolate terms? Were they thrust on you when you started training? Or did you pick them up as you began working?
Once again ,it is weird how so many places have a completely different language. Almost everywhere, any store, group of people etc., there is an unknown language. It really amazes me because it seems so ordinary for us to use one particular type of language (for me rafting lingo) whereas everyone else has no idea and vice versa. First of all I am jealous you work at a chocolate place, it must be delicious. Second, I think it's really cool that even something as simple as chocolate has its own lingo. It seems like it might have been hard to learn.
That made me hungry! It's true though about how easily you can spot and insider and an outsider from the terminology and how outsiders may feel more comfortable using random words. I used to work at Starbucks, and it's the same kind of thing. Behind the counter we HAVE to "call" the drink in a special order using special terms for accuracy, and customers think we're correcting them, or they correct us, when we're saying the same thing. The food world is funny like that.
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