The weekend?s Northwest Chocolate Festival at the Seattle Center was a m?lange of smells and tastes that, in a matter of minutes after tasting sample after free sample of chocolate cannoli, chocolate nibs, hot chocolate, tamales with mole sauce and even the fleshy right-out-of-the-pod cacoa beans, left one pinging in a chocolaty state of delirium.
Dozens of vendors from Seattle and throughout the West Coast offered samples of their labor at the third annual event, which filled up with visitors. Walking amid the masses meant a slow crawl, but since it was all about chocolate, no one was complaining. There were companies from Colorado, California, Utah, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington. There were buyers and makers from even Ecuador in attendance.
Queen Anne?s own Chocolopolis was there, too. Chefs Sebastian and Dominica Falcon tempered chocolate by hand on the culinary kitchen stage. The two met at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and were married at the beginning of the year. Dominica hailed from Seattle, so the couple made the Emerald (and chocolate) City their home base, and both landed jobs at Lauren Adler?s Chocolopolis. Adler had a front-row seat to the demonstration.
?The festival did a great job this year,? she said, adding that there is so much involved in the world of chocolate from politics to agriculture.
A panel of experts discussed as much Sunday afternoon in the World of Chocolate Room. Trending right now in the industry is providing incentives for growers to grow high-grade cacao as public interest and demand increases. Kallari Chocolate, for example, is a farmers? cooperative in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The region is at a crossroads: deforest it for lumber or develop a sustainable means of income for locals and in doing so keep the forest, home to rare birds and monkeys, flourishing. One-hundred percent of the profit made by Kallari Chocolate goes back to the growers.
?We?re starting to get more feedback from consumers about growers,? said Steve DeVries of DeVries Chocolate of Denver, Colo. ?That more upstream interest brings the economics back to the growers, giving them the impetus to do better.?
Beyond the eating and the education, there was drink varietals and yes, skin care. Chocolate makers were on hand in the beer garden making chocolate infused drinks (espresso and whiskey chocolate milkshake anyone?) and nearby were therapy/aphrodisiac chocolates, too.
Erin Andrews of Indi Chocolate of Sammamish has made all sorts of creams and lotions and lip balm made with chocolate. ?I buy my beans from the Mayans,? she said. ?Mayans actually make the chocolate.?
by Sara
Willy Wonka has some competition in Seattle
26 Comments
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Well, indi chocolate LLC just got a little closer.? We just signed a lease for a commercial kitchen in Ballard.? We will be making tasty small batch artisan chocolate at this location.? We will also be able to teach classes here.??
Give us a “like” on the indi chocolate Facebook page and we’ll post our updates there.? You can also visit our website at http://indichocolate.com.