{ "id": "epyj6x3pj8", "slug": "school-of-chocolate", "title": "School of Chocolate", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "School of Chocolate is a 2021 Netflix reality competition in which chocolatier Amaury Guichon mentors eight pastry professionals with no eliminations; one \"Best in Class\" winner receives $50,000 and a Las Vegas master class.", "snippet": "School of Chocolate is a 2021 Netflix reality competition in which chocolatier Amaury Guichon mentors eight pastry professionals with no eliminations; one \"Best in Class\" winner receives $50,000 and a Las Vegas master class.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "markdown": "# School of Chocolate\n\n**School of Chocolate** is an American reality competition television series in which eight pastry and chocolate professionals study chocolate work under the French chocolatier [Amaury Guichon](https://www.edgepedia.org/amaury-guichon), with one contestant named \"Best in Class\" at the end of the season. It premiered on Netflix on November 26, 2021, with all eight episodes of its first season released that day.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15172154/releaseinfo/) The show is known for its unusual format: no contestant is eliminated, and the weakest performers in each round instead receive additional instruction from the host.[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Premiere | November 26, 2021, on Netflix; all eight episodes released the same day[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15172154/releaseinfo/) |\n| Host | Amaury Guichon, a French pastry chef and chocolatier based in Las Vegas[4](https://vegas.eater.com/2021/8/5/22610534/pastry-chef-amaury-guichon-reality-tv-show-netflix) |\n| Format | Eight professionals; no eliminations; challenges called \"exercises\" and \"classes\"[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/) • [5](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2021/12/02/school-of-chocolate-season-one-review/) |\n| Prize | $50,000 and the chance to teach a master class in Las Vegas (one outlet lists $100,000)[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/) • [6](https://time.com/6961466/best-baking-shows-netflix/) |\n| Ratings | IMDb 7.6/10; Rotten Tomatoes 80% from critics and 80% from audiences[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/school-of-chocolate) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate) |\n| Production | Super Delicious Productions; directed by Tom Djokaj[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15172154/) • [9](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/school-of-chocolate) |\n| Status | One season; Netflix has not announced a renewal[10](https://www.asiamediajournal.com/school-of-chocolate-season-2/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\n#### Season 1\n\nThe season takes place at Amaury Guichon's pastry academy in Las Vegas, where eight working pastry chefs are graded, week after week, on chocolate. Each round opens with an individual pastry challenge: every chef has four and a half hours to produce something alone, and the winners pick the teams for a fourteen-hour team challenge the next day, building showpieces made entirely of chocolate.[17](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/)\n\nThe first episode sets the pattern. Guichon opens with the giant chocolate pencil that writes on paper, a demonstration meant to make everyone in the room feel like an apprentice again.[17](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/) He then teaches the skill the chefs will need that same day: bending a sheet of chocolate into a strong cylinder by working it at the precise right moment, a technique the teams must apply in an architectural team challenge.[17](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/) Nobody is eliminated. The two lowest-scoring chefs from the individual round sit out the team challenge and instead get one-on-one remedial lessons from Guichon on whatever skill they failed.[17](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/) The chefs are graded, but never kicked off.[18](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a37070603/amaury-guichon-netflix-school-of-chocolate/)\n\nAcross the middle episodes the challenges escalate from plated pastries to towering all-chocolate showpieces, with Guichon drifting through the studio like a patient, French Tim Gunn, demonstrating each skill before the challenge and stepping in to help struggling chefs mid-build.[18](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a37070603/amaury-guichon-netflix-school-of-chocolate/) Because no one leaves, the real scoreboard is the cumulative record of who keeps landing near the top. Two names keep rising: Juan Gutierrez and Mellisa Root.\n\n**The moment the season is remembered for is the finale's prehistoric showdown.** In the last episode, the two overall best-performing bakers, Juan and Mellisa, are named captains of two teams that compete head-to-head, with members knocked off one by one until only the top two chefs remain for a final giant chocolate showpiece on a prehistoric theme: dinosaurs and ancient landscapes rendered in tempered, sculpted, and airbrushed chocolate, built under time pressure with everything that can crack, slump, or bloom threatening to.[5](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2021/12/02/school-of-chocolate-season-one-review/) • [19](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/) The captains direct their former rivals as teammates, which turns the season's no-elimination ethos into the payoff: the people Juan and Mellisa spent eight weeks competing against are now the hands building their dinosaurs.\n\nWhen the chocolate has set and Guichon renders his verdict, Juan Gutierrez is named Best in Class. His prize package is the $50,000 grand prize, the chance to teach an international master class at Guichon's pastry academy in Las Vegas, 500 pounds of chocolate from Cacao Barry, a one-on-one session with Cacao Barry chefs, and an invitation to the Charleston Food and Wine Festival.[19](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/) Mellisa walks away with the runner-up spot and, like everyone else in the room, eight weeks of education from one of the best chocolatiers alive.\n\n### Characters\n\n**Amaury Guichon** is the host, judge, and teacher, a French chocolatier famous on social media for sculptures that look too impossible to be edible. He demonstrates every challenge's technique himself, from the writing pencil to the chocolate cylinder, and personally tutors the bottom two chefs each round. Reviewers consistently called him a natural on camera, a \"sweetheart\" whose warmth replaces the snarling judge of standard cooking shows.[20](https://leisurebyte.com/netflix-school-of-chocolate-season-1-review/)\n\n**Juan Gutierrez** is the season's winner, a steady, technically strong chef who keeps landing near the top of the individual challenges, earns a captaincy in the finale, and takes the prehistoric showpiece and the $50,000.[19](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/)\n\n**Mellisa Root** is the runner-up, Juan's rival captain in the prehistoric challenge and the last chef standing between him and the title.[19](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/)\n\nThe remaining six contestants are working pastry chefs from varied backgrounds, serving as teammates, rivals, and, in the finale, hands on each other's showpieces.\n\n### Interpretations and controversies\n\nThe main argument about the show is whether its gentle format works. Decider's reviewer gave a firm SKIP IT, arguing the series was poorly structured and never built a real sense of competition across the season, since a show where nobody goes home has no teeth.[17](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/) Other reviewers took the same absence of eliminations as the show's best feature, praising the remedial-lesson structure as a genuinely kinder take on the genre.[20](https://leisurebyte.com/netflix-school-of-chocolate-season-1-review/) There is also a factual confusion floating around: one review describes the stakes as $100,000, while the winner's announcement and most coverage put the grand prize at $50,000 plus the teaching slot and chocolate haul.[21](https://readysteadycut.com/2021/11/27/school-of-chocolate-review-mouth-watering-masterpiece/) • [19](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/)\n\n### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations\n\nNone. The Futon Critic lists the series as canceled/ended after its single season of eight episodes.[22](http://thefutoncritic.com/showatch/school-of-chocolate/)\n\n## Format\n\nEach episode generally contains two challenges, an individual one and a team one. Guichon opens by presenting one of his own creations and demonstrating the technique behind it, then the contestants apply that technique to a themed assignment. After the individual challenge is judged, the two strongest contestants become team leaders for the main challenge, while the two weakest sit out the team round so they can receive one-on-one help from Guichon.[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/) The show's own vocabulary reinforces the teaching frame: challenges are called \"exercises\" and the sections of each episode are called \"classes,\" and Guichon has said on the show that he judges the process and skills involved, not only the final product.[5](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2021/12/02/school-of-chocolate-season-one-review/)\n\nThe absence of eliminations is the format's defining feature. Contestants who perform poorly are told they will work on a different exercise to hone their skills rather than being sent home, and a top student is selected each episode instead.[5](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2021/12/02/school-of-chocolate-season-one-review/) The finale has the two strongest performers captain teams that build the biggest chocolate showpiece of the season, on a prehistoric theme, after which the overall \"Best in Class\" student is named.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58165/school-of-chocolate)\n\nThe challenges themselves cover a range of chocolate and pastry techniques. Contestants create edible illusions that fool the senses, bend chocolate into architectural shapes, build gravity-defying hanging showpieces, and work with sugar; in one episode Guichon forms a sugar dome using plastic wrap, a bucket, and trapped air, and the chefs must apply the technique to their own sweets.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate/s01)\n\n## Amaury Guichon\n\nThe series is built around its host. Amaury Guichon is a French pastry chef and chocolatier based in Las Vegas, where he runs the Pastry Academy by Amaury Guichon.[4](https://vegas.eater.com/2021/8/5/22610534/pastry-chef-amaury-guichon-reality-tv-show-netflix) He was 30 years old when the show premiered and had trained from his teenage years; he earlier competed on the second season of the French competition *Qui sera le prochain grand pâtissier?* (\"Who will be the next best pastry chef?\").[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/) He is known for realistic chocolate and pastry sculptures, which he also shares with a large social media following; at the time the show was announced he had nearly 4 million Instagram followers.[4](https://vegas.eater.com/2021/8/5/22610534/pastry-chef-amaury-guichon-reality-tv-show-netflix)\n\nOn the show he acts as teacher, judge, and host, demonstrating techniques before each challenge and circulating during the challenges to help contestants. Two other pastry chefs, Devin Cowan and Carolyn Nugent, assist and give feedback, though reviewers noted their roles were not clearly explained in the first half of the season.[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe season holds an 80% Tomatometer from five critics and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and 7.6/10 on IMDb.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/school-of-chocolate) Critics singled out the teaching-centered format. Andy Dehnart, who runs the reality television analysis site Reality Blurred, gave the season a B+ and wrote that the show \"respects its cast's talent and host's skill, and admirably centers actual learning,\" while criticizing its attempts to inject drama through music and editing.[3](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/) Alexis Nedd of Mashable wrote that the show's focus on positive growth \"set a new standard that future competitions should emulate,\" and Marty Brown of Common Sense Media gave it 4 out of 5, crediting its focus on craft and progress.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate/s01) Joel Keller of Decider was more negative, calling the show poorly structured and not designed to sustain a building sense of competition.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate/s01)\n\nCommon Sense Media, which rates the show for ages 8 and up, highlighted the no-elimination structure and the supportive tone as its distinguishing qualities.[13](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/school-of-chocolate)\n\n## Aftermath and status\n\nNetflix has not announced a second season. Coverage in 2026 noted that the show had not been renewed since its 2021 season, though it also had not been formally canceled.[10](https://www.asiamediajournal.com/school-of-chocolate-season-2/) Some streaming databases list the series as ended after one season of eight episodes.[14](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81207686) Guichon continued his teaching career independently: in April 2022, CBS Mornings reported that he was preparing for a second season while running his Las Vegas pastry academy,[15](https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/fMBFOhzNQPSewUUNbMbp29ks5a1wo3n6/) and the World Chocolate Masters later named him head of its competition jury, citing his role on the show.[16](https://www.resto-today.com/www.resto-today.com/w/pdf/cacaobarry-wcmparis-jury-okok.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [School of Chocolate | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate)\n2. [School of Chocolate (TV Series 2021) – Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15172154/releaseinfo/)\n3. [School of Chocolate (Netflix) and Great Chocolate Showdown (CW) reviews, Reality Blurred](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/01/school-of-chocolate-netflix-great-chocolate-showdown-cw-review/)\n4. [Pastry chef Amaury Guichon lands his own reality TV show on Netflix, Eater Vegas](https://vegas.eater.com/2021/8/5/22610534/pastry-chef-amaury-guichon-reality-tv-show-netflix)\n5. [School Of Chocolate: Season One Review, Nerdly](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/2021/12/02/school-of-chocolate-season-one-review/)\n6. [The Best Baking Shows on Netflix, Time](https://time.com/6961466/best-baking-shows-netflix/)\n7. [School of Chocolate – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/school-of-chocolate)\n8. [School of Chocolate (TV Series 2021), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15172154/)\n9. [School of Chocolate, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/school-of-chocolate)\n10. [School Of Chocolate Season 2 – Has Netflix Greenlit the Sequel?, Asia Media Journal](https://www.asiamediajournal.com/school-of-chocolate-season-2/)\n11. [School of Chocolate, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58165/school-of-chocolate)\n12. [School of Chocolate: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/school_of_chocolate/s01)\n13. [School of Chocolate – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/school-of-chocolate)\n14. [Is 'School of Chocolate' on Netflix?, New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81207686)\n15. [How \"School of Chocolate\" is breaking the molds, CBS Mornings](https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/fMBFOhzNQPSewUUNbMbp29ks5a1wo3n6/)\n16. [Communiqué de Presse – Juillet 2022, World Chocolate Masters jury](https://www.resto-today.com/www.resto-today.com/w/pdf/cacaobarry-wcmparis-jury-okok.pdf)\n17. [https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/](https://decider.com/2021/11/26/school-of-chocolate-netflix-review/)\n18. [https://www.delish.com/food-news/a37070603/amaury-guichon-netflix-school-of-chocolate/](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a37070603/amaury-guichon-netflix-school-of-chocolate/)\n19. [https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/](https://netflixlife.com/2021/11/26/who-won-school-of-chocolate-netflix/)\n20. [https://leisurebyte.com/netflix-school-of-chocolate-season-1-review/](https://leisurebyte.com/netflix-school-of-chocolate-season-1-review/)\n21. [https://readysteadycut.com/2021/11/27/school-of-chocolate-review-mouth-watering-masterpiece/](https://readysteadycut.com/2021/11/27/school-of-chocolate-review-mouth-watering-masterpiece/)\n22. [http://thefutoncritic.com/showatch/school-of-chocolate/](http://thefutoncritic.com/showatch/school-of-chocolate/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 2017 to 2021*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"School of Chocolate\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[School of Chocolate](https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate](https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"School of Chocolate\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/school-of-chocolate. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "School of Chocolate is a 2021 Netflix reality competition in which chocolatier Amaury Guichon mentors eight pastry professionals with no eliminations; one \"Best in Class\" winner receives $50,000 and a Las Vegas master class." }