Chocolate Festivals Throughout the UK

Considering that the UK is the world’s third biggest consumer of chocolate, it’s no surprise that we have come to celebrate all varieties of this sweet treat in virtually all possible ways. Easter eggs, chocolate boxes, hearts, fountains…all fine delicious indulgences, but why not go the whole hog?

Chocolate Festivals and Events are now sweeping the nation throughout the year whilst sponsored ‘chocolate weeks’ crop up throughout the annual calendar just as frequently. The most recognised ‘chocolate week’ in the UK usually takes place in October each year (10th – 16th for 2011), during which an incredible amount of events take place culminating in ‘Chocolate Unwrapped’, a dedicated show with all of the UK’s top chocolate companies under the same roof.

Chocolate Unwrapped is the absolute highlight of Chocolate Week where visitors can entirely immerse themselves in an overwhelmingly decadent chocolate feast. The show gives guests the opportunity to taste virtually all kinds of chocolate, combined with stunning exhibitions of chocolate art and sculptures before talks are given by the world’s top chocolatiers, experts and authors. You can even try Sanguinaccio chocolate blood pudding and sample chocolate as it would have originally tasted one hundered years ago. And of course no visit to this prestigious event would be complete without signing the chocolate wall!

The renowned ‘La Maison Du Chocolat’ also plays its part in chocolate week. Gilles Marchal, the Master Patry Chef-Chocolatier and Creative Director of La Maison has previously opened the doors to chocolate aficionados in order to excite many taste buds and allow the public to delve fully into the world of fine chocolate.

More recently, the Southbank Centre’s Chocolate Festival has just taken place, for its 6th gastronomic celebration of all things chocolate. This wonderful event enables guests to sample chocolate from William Curley, Bill McCarrick, Damian Allsop and Paul Wayne Gregory. Guests are taught about raw chocolate’s huge range of health benefits before attending tutored tasting sessions during which they can sample a vast selection of sweet and savoury chocolate dishes and cocktails – not forgetting venison and pumpkin enchiladas with chocolate and chilli sauce! The many chocolate experts who attended gave excellent sweet talks and presented the many magnificent recipes and sculptures they had created.

These festivals also incorporate the much-loved Chocolate Fondues or Fountains that can usually be found at weddings and birthday parties. These delicious party-pieces have really taken off during the past few years and are in increasing demand from the public; nothing quite compares to dipping a delicious strawberry or marshmallow into warm, melted chocolate…

Whether it involves drinking it, eating it, or shaping it, the UK’s chocolate events prove year on year that there is simply no suppressing the UK’s appetite for chocolate!