The NZ Chocolate Festival

As a chocolate lover I prepared myself well ahead of time. Light meals and no chocolate for three days beforehand, check. On the day - a brisk, early morning walk with our dog, check, no morning tea or lunch, check. Camera and invite in bag, check. A big deep breath, brace yourself, check.
I was met at the entrance of the Intercontinental Hotel by three friendly staff and with a happy contented smile my name was ticked off their list. The nice usher at the bottom of the stairs was greeted by my big grin and then I was there. I was in the The NZ Chocolate Festival. chocolatefestival.co.nz/2013
Was it me or did I imagine that everyone around me appeared really, really happy that morning! Following the opening speeches and a 'cheers'! with little complimentary chocolate cups filled with ganache, I had a couple of hours of sheer delight visiting the various stalls, tasting (lots and lots), smelling and watching chocolate played with, drizzled, dipped and licked. One favourite was the Christmas chocolate by Schoc, think Christmas cake and pudding in a chocolate. It was a winner for me!
And this year I had a couple of surprising firsts - I dipped a marshmallow into a fountain of glistening chocolate and stuffed it into my mouth, it always seemed a messy thing to do but the verdict was yum! I tasted a fresh cacao bean and discovered pure chocolate can vary in taste depending on the region they came from. Interesting, I did not know that! I was also amazed how many people were making chocolate in the Wellington area, what a relief - we don't need to worry about a shortage of great chocolate anytime soon. And I must check out The Press Chocolate Makers - a chocolate factory that is opening early October, here in Wellington. I think it will be a definite highlight for any future southern visitors.
Here are some pics of my time at the festival. A bit of a disclaimer, while I gratefully accepted a goodie bag from the festival, I have only talked about and taken photos of items that personally appealed to my eye and taste. Suffice to say there are some extremely talented, hardworking, clever people out there who make great chocolate!

My grandies would love this

Clever and a bit different

Something else a bit different

By this time I had devoured three. Number four coming up!