The 7th Annual DC Chocolate Festival was a chocolate lover’s dream. In the airy atrium of the French Cultural Institute, makers of bars, bonbons and assorted other products lined the walls, offering samples and selling their wares. Several educational programs were held, and many of those involved tastings. It was a feast for all the senses, with opportunities to take away some fine examples of artisanal products.
The festival’s guiding light is Marisol Slater, former owner of the Chocolate House, a boutique store in Dupont Circle. She told me that she hoped to bring some of the issues around sustainability, environmental impact, and support of cacao farmers to wider attention, while still making the experience fun and interesting (and tasty). She has partnered with GWU’s Institute of Corporate Responsibility and the country of Trinidad and Tobago to highlight the voices of the farmers, small producers and certification programs.
It’s a complex industry. Most consumers are aware that chocolate prices are higher than they have been. She hopes to make them aware of the issues affecting the global market, especially in a city full of policy wonks – but make it delicious.
If you ask me, she succeeded. I had hoped to attend more tasting and educational sessions, but I managed just one, while visiting all the vendors, before succumbing to a theobromine coma.
Sweet and Savory Tasting Session
That session, “Chocolate and What?” promised a survey of historic and cultural pairings accompanied by tastings of those combinations designed to enhance the taste of chocolate. We began in the past, matching cacao nibs with honey, per the Aztecs. Fun fact: the Aztecs flavored chocolate with many additional things, including magnolia flowers. While we were contemplating honey, a second pairing matched chocolate with honey-spun cotton candy.
Next, red drinking chocolate highlighted achiote, a red spice from Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It adds a mild heat and a peppery depth and is purported to have antioxidant powers.
After a less-successful tasting of vegan white chocolate with turmeric and ginger, the last pairing featured an alternative cocoa-free product with roasted coffee cherries. Interesting, but not chocolate. I felt a little cheated.
Over 30 Vendors
But about those vendors: each offered tastings of their specialties, and all were the real deal –no “alternatives!” They ranged from a simple display of a few products to elaborate, colorful, themed presentations, meant to stand out in the crowded hall (and the marketplace). But each vendor really had to answer just one basic question: did their chocolate taste good enough to justify a premium price?
Spoiler: Yes. From the simple three-variety selection (Ende Cacao) to the elaborate display, complete with coffee and chocolate brewed at the table and whipped with a molinillo by Sleep Walk, the chocolate was unanimously delicious. That’s not to say I didn’t have my favorites.
Here’s a selection of those that impressed me:
Maybe you see a theme here? I think ginger goes just fine with chocolate! More vendors who made an impression:
And Lunch
One thing I don’t want to test is whether I can exist on chocolate alone, so I was delighted to find that the Cultural Institute is served by a concessionaire who lives up to expectations for French food. LabonneDC Caterers served up a mighty ham and cheese quiche with a side salad for a reasonable price. Just the thing to fortify us for the trip home! Bon Appetit!
