30 October 2017
Recently, I was fortunate enough to align a business trip to the US with the occurrence of the annual Dallas Chocolate Festival. Those who know me well insist that it was the other way around!
A chocolate festival in humid, subtropical downtown Dallas, one may ask? Indeed. I’ve been there and done that so here are my five top tips for a first-rate chocolate festival experience.
1. Get There Early
Purchase VIP tickets to beat the crowds and ensure that you get first stab at meeting with and chatting to some of America’s most celebrated and respected craft chocolate makers. I certainly did.
I was privileged to meet Art from Amano Chocolate, Rob from Fresco Chocolate, Greg from Dandelion Chocolate, Adam and Dustin from Dick Taylor Chocolate, Ben from Potomac Chocolate and the list goes. What an amazing experience listening to them share inspirations behind their chocolate creations and their individual chocolate journeys.
2. Pace Yourself
Chocolates are aplenty to sample and purchase, and rightly so. So pace yourself to ensure that you can get through all the possible tastings from one chocolate maker/ chocolatier to the next. Also, work your way from the lowest percentage of cacao to the highest, i.e. from white to milk to dark milk and finally dark chocolate. And remember to cleanse your palate with water in between each tasting.
3. Latest Chocolate Trends
Chocolate festivals, expos and shows are the ideal setting to pick up on the latest chocolate trends. Fancy a chocolate made purely of cacao butter, minus the sugar and milk in white chocolate? Or perhaps exotic single origin bars made using cacao beans sourced from Asia and the Pacific Islands? Be taken on a journey by country of origin, terroir and unique methods of fermentation and roasting as you sail from one craft chocolate maker to the next.
4. Do Your Homework
If you’re a die hard chocolate aficionado like me, it pays to do a little homework on the chocolate makers/ chocolatiers and their specialities. That way, you know what to hone in on when tasting and purchasing a particular chocolate maker’s signature/ award winning creation(s).
5. Ask for Recommendations
Never assume that you know more about chocolates than the chocolate makers. Ask for pointers and you may end up pleasantly surprised. For example, Art from Amano convinced me to try and subsequently purchase the Dos Ríos 70% Dominican Republic bar. Weeks later, at the world finals of the International Chocolate Awards 2017 in London, this very bar was awarded silver in the plain/ origin dark chocolate bars category. The bar sings beautiful and bright spring and summer flavours of sweet citrus, berries and flowers.
The Verdict:
The Dallas Chocolate Festival presents an excellent introduction to the world of American craft chocolates. While lacking in size and scale of other more notable chocolate events, it provides a more intimate and focused environment for chocolate education and appreciation.
I’m super excited to apply my five top tips in less than 2 weeks’ time, at the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle!
Who says you can’t have chocolates for breakfast, lunch and dinner? They mustn’t have discovered Rabot 1745, the sister bar, cafe and restaurant to Hotel Chocolat, one of Britain’s imminent tree and bean to bar chocolate makers.
At Rabot 1745, start your morning with a cup of decadent hot chocolate, made from cacao grown in Hotel Chocolat’s own estate in Saint Lucia, while people watching outside London’s Borough Market. Then, sit down to one of many cacao inspired dishes from their menu and sip on a cacao cocktail to while away the rest of your afternoon.
When you’re ready for chocolates from Hotel Chocolat, head to the retail section to select from an impressive range of bean and tree to bar chocolates, bon bons and other chocolate inspired products. My top pick is the Rare and Vintage range that includes single origin bars made with cacao from their Saint Lucia estate, Vietnam, Honduras, Ghana, Ecuador and Colombia. If you’re feeling adventurous, give the Buffalo milk bar a go.
Rabot 1745 and Hotel Chocolat were born out of Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris’ love affair with cocoa, starting back in 1988. From catalogue sales and subscriptions of chocolates, their business evolved to retail chocolates, culminating in the creation of the Hotel Chocolate brand. The acquisition of the Rabot estate in Saint Lucia and the opening of a hotel within the estate soon followed and more recently, the extension into restaurants including Rabot 1745.
What happens when a renowned chocolate blogger redirects his creative prowess to crafting chocolates? A new bean to bar chocolate star is born, of course.
Damson craft chocolate is the newest kid on the block in the London bean to bar scene. However, chocolate maker and owner Dom Ramsay is no stranger to the chocolate world. He’s the creator of Chocablog, the biggest and longest running chocolate blog on the web, and a past judge for chocolate awards including the Academy of Chocolate Awards and World Chocolate Masters. Most recently, Dom released his first chocolate book titled “Chocolate: Indulge Your Inner Chocoholic”. What a chocolate legend!
Having been fortunate enough to catch Dom on a quiet day, I was taken on a tour of his shop and rebuilt chocolate kitchen. Dom has shown much resilience in rebuilding after a fire tore through his shop last year.
Akesson’s is another shining star on the London bean to bar scene.
Bertil Akesson is the force behind the brand. Inspired by a childhood spent moving across continents until his family settled in Madagascar, Bertil became fascinated with cocoa, spices and other tropical commodities. Years later, he now owns cacao plantations across three continents and shares his passion for fine chocolates and peppers with the world.
The Akesson’s Organic boutique is located in the trendy suburb of 
Avignon is one such small city, with its mix of Provençal charm, stone architecture, historical Roman ruins, medieval marvels like the Pont D’Avignon and Saint Benezet Bridge, and the famous gothic edifice that is the Palais des Papes. How do chocolates fit in to this picture perfect setting and where can one experience the best that Avignon has to offer?
Creative and contemporary is what Aline Gehant does best. Is it possible to express the flavours of Provence in chocolate? Aline has given this much thought and come up with the Noir de Provence, a dark chocolate bar that exudes fragrant summery aromas of ripe plums, notes of almonds and a silky smooth texture. The aromas alone are enough to conjure up memories of balmy summers in Provence.
But it doesn’t stop there. There’s also her fine ganaches crafted from seasonal ingredients and the fraise bar, made purely with strawberries, cacao butter and sugar. It’s bursting with the sweet scent of ripe strawberries and a medley of sweet and tart flavours. Almost as refreshing as a serve of strawberry sorbet in summer.
Aline Gehant is a talented young chocolate artisan. From humble beginnings as a pastry chef, she soon fell in love with chocolates and honed her skills in Paris, including a stint at the famous La Maison du Chocolat.
When in Avignon, one must seek out a taste of the city’s registered French national heritage – 
Each Les Papalines comprises an inner cell filled with origan du Comtat or oregano liquor from the Comtat. The liquor is in fact made with oregano, marjoram and up to 60 other plants sourced from the foothills of Mount Ventoux. The inner cell is dipped in 72% dark chocolate followed by a second outer layer of pink papaline chocolate to create the final masterpiece.
The artisanal chocolate brand Puyricard takes its name from a small township just outside of Aix en Provence, where it was established in 1967.
The specialties here are the extensive handmade bon bons of ganaches, pralines, caramels and liqueurs, plus the traditional French confectionary called calissons. These are almond shaped and consist of a smooth, pale yellow paste of candied fruit and ground almonds, topped with a thin layer of icing sugar.
Puyricard was founded by the Belgian couple of of Marie-Anne and Jean-Guy Roelandts, who have since handed the reigns to their son Tanguy. Craftsmanship, quality and freshness are key to Puyricard’s success thus far.
Provençal delicatessen and chocolate shop best describes Le Comptoir de Mathilde, a chain available throughout the south of France.
The Le Comptoir de Mathilde in Avignon is just a block behind the Palais Des Papas, on