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A ZDS Technical Instructor:
a Profile of Bernd Kossack
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Bernd Kossack, 41, from Mülheim an der Ruhr, is a technical instructor at the ZDS and he teaches in the
special areas of sugar confectionery and chocolate manufacturing. He knows the possibilities and requirements
at the ZDS from top to bottom – before his teaching activities, he too did his vocational training
and master’s course here in Solingen. “Even if was quite a while ago”, he says with a chuckle. “Away from
home for weeks on end, a very intensive learning environment – that was a radical and formative time
for us all.”
Today, Bernd Kossack teaches the art of
sugar confectionery and chocolate
manufacturing both to vocational trainees
as well as masters’ candidates.
While the master craftspersons’ course
only consists of theoretical instruction –
including team work and cooperation –
the trainees also learn the practical side
from him, and that from scratch. ”If you
want to become a specialist in confectionery
technology, you have to be able
to work independently in an orderly
way”, he says. Under him, the trainees
practise the production of filled and
unfilled hard caramels, soft caramels
and dragées. The instruction in chocolate
manufacturing deals with production
from the raw material to the finished
product: from roasting the cocoa beans
to grinding and processing the cocoa
mass right down to the recipes with
sugar and milk.
“The pupils have to get a feel for the
right temperature, consistency and
components. That’s only possible
through practice based on careful
instruction in theory”, is his credo.
“Many companies are specialised. For
instance, there are now only 13 chocolate
manufacturers in Germany who
still work with raw cocoa. So for most of
the trainees, the wide range of possibilities
at the ZDS is the only opportunity to
get to know all aspects of confectionery
manufacturing.”
The same applies to dealing with
machinery. “The technology in confectionery
production is becoming more
and more sophisticated. Through our
worldwide networking, we are always
at the latest state of technology and can
pass this knowledge on to the pupils.”
After more than twenty years in the job,
does a person like Bernd Kossack still
eat sweets?
”Occasionally I get a real craving for
chocolate”, he admits. “And here, of
course, we like to try out the results of
our pupils’ efforts. But at home, what I
like most of all is pretzel sticks.”