3rd Year students visit Nestlé PTC

On Wednesday 23rd November, a group of students and staff from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering visited the Nestlé Product Technology Centre (PTC) in York.  This is a Nestlé research centre for chocolate and confectionery.  The visit was organized as part of the 3rd year design project on improvement of chocolate production.

The day began with a quick introduction to the PTC and how it links into the Nestlé network.  This was followed by a presentation on chocolate manufacture and also a visit to the pilot plant.  This gave everyone a chance to improve their knowledge of chocolate and for students to see the industrial application of what they have been learning.

In the afternoon, a group of students presented their design project on the "Improvement of Chocolate Production" to Nestlé.  The presentation was well received and was followed by a discussion to help the students with their design work.

Following the presentation, the students headed to the workshops in the kitchen, where two of Nestlé’s confectioners demonstrated how to hand-temper chocolate, make plain chocolate bars and caramel-filled chocolates.  Even though the process of making the chocolate was extremely messy, it was enjoyed by all.  The students said that  “It was amazing to make our own chocolates, and we even managed to impress the confectioners with how quickly we  cleaned up the mess afterwards”.

We would like to thank everyone at Nestlé PTC York, particularly the staff who organised the visit, not only for their hospitality during the day, but also for the feedback and help they have have given to us, both during the visit and also at various points during the design project.  Special thanks go to Professor Stefan Palzer, Dr Ramana Sundara, Angel Manez, Jan Kuendiger, Chris Pearson, Linda Ives, Liz Young, Steve Whitehouse, Shantha Nalur and Guruprasad Manohar.