Still fun, still delicious and filled with vendors of all things chocolate and some things not so chocolatey but still quite wonderful. And occasionally quite decadent.
SakeOne again brought it in big with their delicious fruity but not overly sweet Saketinis. This Forest Grove, Oregon based craft sake brewer stole my heart long ago with their Momokawa, Moonstone and G+ Sake lines. I had never enjoyed sake before SakeOne and now I purchase it as regularly as wine or beer. It is a refreshing change and should be considered.
There is a small coalition of wineries at the festival and although they are fun and often offer a unique sampling of flavors (ie Chocolate wine) they aren't my favorite part of this event and so I try not to spend too much time lingering around them. (I know a few of you who know me personally are doubting the validity of that statement but it's true). I was however, intrigued by a sampling of sipping vinegars that were absolutely delightful and had me envisioning an evening of concocting old-timey flavored punches and cocktails. I had to pick up the warming sweetness of the Ginger Honey Shrub from Sage and Sea Farms.
It was a difficult choice and I'm sure I'll need to visit the Portland Farmer's market and pick up a couple more bottles. Perhaps the Beet Sipping Vinegar or the sweet soft and refreshing lavender. Don't balk, just try them and let me know what you think.
Because we had already attended the Wine and Chocolate Pairing seminar a couple of years ago, K and I decided to watch the cooking demonstration for Chicken Mole by Lane Community College's Chef Clive Wanstall. His humorous and delightful presentation may have been a little rushed but it introduced a delicious way to serve up chocolate in an unorthodox manner. Now certainly some of my favorite suhweet treats were represented and we quickly sought out Cupcake Jones. Still the best place for cupcakes in Portland, if you ask me. Did I tell the about the time I was sitting outside of Cupcake Jones face deep into an Orange Cremesicle when Timothy Hutton rode up on his bike? Let's just say no words were exchanged but I know he wanted my cupcake.
Another favorite purveyor of dreamy deliciousness is Arrowhead Chocolates out of Joseph, Oregon. They create the best single-malt whiskey truffle ever. Their salted caramel, earl grey, tiramisu and huckleberry truffles should not be missed. I need to stop talking about them because seriously I could talk myself into driving the 5-6 hours out to eastern Oregon just to buy some more.
I'm also a big fan of Cocotutti, although they are neither a local nor a small batch chocolatier. They do, however, offer some bold adventures in chocolate without tasting fake, waxy, or false. The tea infusions are amazing. I know. Overused word. But amazing pretty much wraps it up here.Some of the vendors were simply producing run of the mill, waxy, flat chocolate but some stand-out yum appeared around each corner and I was especially impressed with the organically and sustainably driven Stirs the Soul. The owner/chocolatier, Darren Hayes, was especially informative and in spite of his laid back demeanor his passion for chocolate was clear. I found him later on YouTube, so you can check him out here and see what I mean. The man and his chocolate are the real deal.
I was also really delighted to meet the owner/creator of Kilikina's. You can tell that this chocolate is created with and inspired by love. Really sweet, make you smile, kind of love.
With no doubt, I love ChocolateFest and was very happy to return this year. Sadly, there were no chocolate fountains or sculptures or models drizzled in chocolate as in previous years but that just left more time for meeting people who love their product and eating more chocolate. And really, that is the point.
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