The chocolate journey as a cook...

I am trained as a cook, in the french style to be exact.  My personal cooking style is one of perseverance, in other words,  I choose a cuisine and learn it.  I read, cook, read and cook and ask lots questions of other friends who know that cuisine or even ask the chef at a restaurant that may be of help.  Only once have I had to throw out the results and order pizza.
When I began learning how to temper chocolate, it was with an online class.  This class is designed by Pam Williams of Ecole Chocolat in Canada and, because it was online, allowed me to learn the tempering and candy making process while being a full time mom to three children and allowing my husband to travel for business as needed.  As a trained cook, I know the difference between good and great is practice.  Although, to be honest, I had some experience in tempering and making chocolate bon bons in my professional life in restaurant and catering, it was many, many years ago and my memory of it was scant.  Through the online class, I pushed myself to hand temper over and over again, and after the twenty-fifth time over a one week period, felt that I consistently produced a near perfect temper.