Portland Chocolatefest 2016: How sweet it is...

     I'm a big fan of Chocolatefest, big fan.  Ever since it began,  11 years ago, what?  11 years ago? Whoa.  I'm proud to say I was there back in the early years.  It started up at the World Forestry Center as a fundraiser and then it grew, almost too big for it's britches and had to move to the Oregon Convention Center where it opens again this weekend, Jan 22-24.  Tonight was opening night and catered to the 21+ crowd and so there were no young ones to worry about stepping on or tripping over as I ran to my next confectionery grab.  There was a lot of deliciousness to grab for.




Let's begin with what I enjoyed starting my evening with: Tito's Vodka Chocolatini. Smooth, warm, Tito's Vodka distilled small batch in Austin, Texas and poured up rich and delicious, chocolate milk style.  Yes and Please and Thank you, all at once.  A nice way to begin the evening.

I want to go on and on about some of my favorite vendors but I know I've written about them before and I don't want to be redundant.  But I must, at the very least, implore you to try their wares because thinking about them right now makes me happy and I want to share them with you.  Perhaps the Chocolatini is prompting me with an "I love you, man" kind of mood but seriously.  If you go to Chocolatefest this weekend or if you ever happen upon the chance to try out one or more of these vendors, please do yourself a solid and go for it.  Who at that show warrants this kind of love and affection?  Arrowhead Chocolate out of Joseph, Oregon comes to mind.  My favorite will always be the Ginger Cream Truffle, no wait, the Stein Whiskey Truffle, no no the Juniper Gin. Dang!  You get the point.
Sea and Sage Shrubs, a delicious drinking vinegar, and of course, Cupcake Jones, are all great folks to visit.



There is definitely a lot of sweet going on here but with all of the sugar, chocolate and alcohol that was flowing, K and I knew we needed something of more sustenance.  We headed to the Eat area (see food court) and were delighted to find some nice chocolate complimentary entrees.  We went with the Convention Center's catering table Pacificwild and their Cinnamon Dusted Pork Loin with Chocolate Stout Mole and seared polenta.  Oh!  Seriously.  This was Convention Center catering and it was delicious!  I know! I'm shouting!  I would go back to this restaurant if it were a restaurant I could go back to.

Now on to my new Chocolatefest discoveries.  I have found it!  and by it I mean the perfect toffee.  and by perfect, I mean Perrrrrrrrfeeeeeect.  Cowboy Toffee Company out of Oakdale, California.  How can I describe this toffee.  First off, Sam McGinnis, one of the delightful owners, noticed K and I were drinking some beer (Rogue Chocolate Stout) and asked us to please try her Ghost Town Toffee ( dark chocolate, almond dust, roasted ghost peppers, salt).  She knew it would be a perfect pairing and she knows her product.  I was frightened at first.  Mentioning Ghost Peppers in your ingredients intimidates me but this was some serious deliciousness.  The toffee itself has a texture that most toffees wish they could attain, light airy, just chewy enough without sticky tooth residue.  You won't loose your fillings to this but you will lose your heart.  The dark chocolate is a perfectly creamy compliment hugging the toffee.  Love at first bite.




Speaking of love, fera wyn's  motto "Forget Love, I'd rather fall in chocolate"  No truer words spoken when speaking of these delightful artisan style chocolates.  I'm a little sad they didn't have the Green Fairy with them but I thoroughly enjoyed the Limoncello. The tang and zip were perfectly balanced.  creamy but not too sweet. The Hawt Date was delightful. Not too hot with the lovely nutty chewy date finish.  I will be ordering more.




I'm also a huge fan of Lillie Belle Farms'  Most Awesome Chocolate Bar Ever.  It really is. And Goldfinch Caramels.  Creamy, delicious (love love love the Rosemary) Just great caramel.

(Amendment 1/23)  Found out this morning that Nothing But Bundt Cakes took the Best in Show.  Great Choice- they have amazing delicious baby bundts, my favorite was the Chocolate Turtle. Mmmmmm, soft and delicious.  Not too sweet but just enough chocolatey goodness.

Finally, and worth the wait, we have Thomas and Sons Distillery. When I say wait, I mean wait because there were lines at this place All Night Long.  but K and I finally just said forget about it and waited at the side for our turn to be served.  Like I said "worth the wait".  I have never had a liqueur distilled from tea and most likely neither have you because, as far as I know, these are the only people doing it. and I'm not talking about tea infused alcohol.  I'm talking about Tea and sugar distilled into liqueur.  It is surprisingly delicious and they have liquors that run the gamut from White Tea right through bitter black and onto my favorite, Smoke Tea. Smoke Tea is distilled smoke Lapsang black tea flavored with Vanilla Bean and blackberry honey.  It seriously is camping in a bottle.  I know they were using all of their liquors in mixed drinks but I don't think I would want to mix this one.  It would be a nice long sip by the campfire, or the couch or the kitchen table, wherever.  The new release from Thomas and Sons is the Bluebird Liquer.  I'm not quite sure what it is but it reminds me of maybe St. Germaine or other herb and spice based spirits.  Warm, yet fresh.  Sweet and spicy.  The perfect end to a delicious evening.

ChocolateFest 2014: Returning to Yum

This weekend K and I decided to return to the ChocolateFest after taking a year hiatus from the event.  Last year we headed south to Salem for the First Taste of Oregon and that was wonderful but we missed the decadence and yumminess that is ChocolateFest.

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.