The Chocolate Festival on London's Southbank
The Source visited The Chocolate Festival on London's Southbank, to see for ourselves just what and who these festivals involved and if they really were a chocoholics delight.
It was a quick trip up to the Southbank from the outskirts of Surrey on what was proving to be a glorious sunshine day after a chilly early morning start.
As we entered the festival's outdoor arena we were greeted, from the onset, by a mixture of deliciously mouth-watering aromas, all heavily based with chocolate undertones.
If you are a chocoholic then this is most definitely your heaven - or hell... With so much on offer - were should we start?
The first stall we encountered was totally stunning! Chocolates, all hand made, displayed in a rainbow of colours to match their taste.
Absolutely everything on the stall was laid out to tease and tempt, clearly displaying the skill and creativity of the person or people responsible for this wonderful delight and promising a taste to equal this attention to detail.
As we moved along we found this was a recurring theme, with every chocolatier producing an equally high quality of presentation.
The majority of stallholders were quick to offer taste samples to all who passed by; accompanied with a presentation of their knowledge, knowing where the raw materials were sourced and what process was used to turn these basic ingredients into their speciality confectionery.
We tasted not only the purest of chocolate - but salted chocolate lollies that gave way to caramel and popping candy and a desire to keep this sensation in your mouth for as long as possible; an amusé-bouche in the true sense of the translation and a lolly that 'Charlie' himself would have been envious to claim.
With the running theme of chocolate came extra-ordinary creations; including alcoholic drinks, shots and beverages made using pure cacao, cakes in a variety of chocolate styles - including something for those with an intolerance, gluten and dairy free assorted chocolate cakes that taste divine and could certainly show those offerings in the 'speciality' food aisles a thing or two.
So devilish, so heavenly - you decide...
If you haven't been to a chocolate festival before then make sure you head to Brighton for the 16th or 17th April 2011 where you will get a first hand experience of everything chocolate.
From 10am to 6pm daily @ New Road (Opposite Royal Pavilion) - free admission.
Two days of chocolate-fuelled festivities as part of the annual Brighton Food and Drink Festival.
It’s the perfect place to stock up on delicious Easter gifts and indulge your passion for all things chocolate.
Brighton Chocolate Festival highlights include:
- Sample the delights of the world’s best Chocolatiers. From William Curley, Damian Allsop to Paul Wayne Gregory.
- Chat to Britain’s best artisan chocolate producers and pick up delectable Easter gifts for friends and family.
- Taste your way through sweet and savoury chocolate dishes and cocktails.
- Discover the health benefits of raw chocolate.
We snapped up a selection of gifts to send out to our 'Pancake Filling' winner from March's comments competition and we have a couple of bars of chocolate left to give away this week too.
If you think you deserve a treat simply comment below and tell us, in no more than 15 words, why you should get them...
Too hard? Then visit a chocolate festival and try not to taste or take home something from every stall - now that's hard!
We will send out these two 45g Artisan du Chocolat Java (break the mould) and Ginger & Lemongrass (fusion) bars to the person with (in our opinion) the best reason for getting them.
Closing date for entries 18th April 2011.
The winner will be notified by email.
Open to UK residents only.
Full terms and conditions available here.