LITITZ, Pa., July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill, owner of Wilbur® chocolate and Peter's® chocolate, has announced it will offer its fifteenth session of The Chocolatier's Workshop September 23-25, 2013, to help confectioners and chocolatiers build and operate successful businesses. The session will be held in Lititz, Pa.

The Chocolatier's Workshop is beneficial for anyone working in the confectionery industry: those just beginning, those who need a refresher, or those in need of a few good ideas.

Tom and Debra Ocasio who own The Chocolate Lounge in Long Branch, New Jersey, are recent participants. Tom said, "As a retail chocolate and dessert shop owner for the last eight years my wife Debra and I wanted to believe we had it all figured out. Then we attended The Chocolatier's Workshop and the amount of knowledge and expertise we received from the staff as well as other workshop participants was priceless."

"We left the workshop with not only confirmation that our business was headed in the right direction, but also a new found wealth of knowledge to move our business forward in the future," added Tom. "I would highly recommend this class to anyone thinking of entering the chocolate world for the first time or an experienced business owner just looking to regain that spark that started them on their chocolate journey."

The Chocolatier's Workshop is an interactive, three-day seminar that focuses on opening and operating a successful confectionery business:

• Day One: The first day focuses on creating a successful confectionery business: selecting a site location, determining the proper product mix, purchasing the correct equipment, choosing appropriate packaging, and launching a successful brand identity.

• Day Two: The focus of the second day is on teaching attendees how to manage their business: marketing, advertising, and promoting the brand, the legal and operational landscape of business and who to contact to help navigate it.

• Day Three: The final day is spent in Cargill's cocoa and chocolate product development laboratory. Participants will learn the theory of tempering chocolate and then utilize the lab to test each method and will gain a broader understanding of making confections through hands-on practice making clusters, moulded truffles, rolled truffles, and solid pieces.

The Chocolatier's Workshop is limited to 10 participants who meet the workshop qualifications. Please contact Heather Stierly at 717-626-3246 or e-mail chocolate@cargill.com to register or for more information.

About Cargill:

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, our privately held company employs 142,000 people in 65 countries. We help customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and are committed to sharing our global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges.

About Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate:

Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate offers the food industry a wide range of both standard and customized cocoa and chocolate ingredients to be used in delicious bakery, confectionery, and dairy applications all over the world. Our product range includes high quality Gerkens® cocoa powders, chocolate including Wilbur®, Peter's® and Veliche®, coatings, fillings, cocoa liquors and cocoa butters. With years of experience in technical food expertise Cargill supports its customers in new recipes and new product development.

Our facilities in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Ghana, the Netherlands, UK and the USA are fully dedicated to produce in accordance with the highest food safety standards.

To secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans we have our own cocoa bean sourcing operations for buying, handling and/or exporting of cocoa beans in Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Indonesia and Vietnam. Presence in all the leading producing countries allows Cargill to oversee the supply chain from beans at origin to cocoa and chocolate products on our customers' doorstep. In addition, extensive market research and analysis proves to be a source of valuable information to our customers. For more information, please visit: North America www.cargillfoods.com/chocolate