In three weeks, the 11th Annual Dallas Chocolate Festival “The World of Chocolate – In a Box” will be held virtually on Sept. 12 & 13. DallasChocolate.org is delivering the same beloved elements as the original Festival but in this most unusual of years; the mouthwatering tastings, interactive and engaging educational programs, and live chats have all been retooled so they can be enjoyed in the comfort of home. Deadline to purchase full-access Festival tickets including the box of chocolates is September 2nd.
Virtual festivalgoers will be immersed in the wonderful world of chocolate all weekend long starting with a hand-delivered box of artisanal chocolate samples from over 30 chocolate companies across the globe and other notable exhibitors. DallasChocolate.org collaborated with Alto for pre-scheduled home delivery in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Shipping options are also available for attendees outside of the Metroplex.
In addition to the chocolate box, festivalgoers will have the opportunity to learn every element of chocolate-making with live virtual demonstrations, discussions, guided tastings, and factory tours led by expert chefs and chocolate makers. They will also be able to video chat and text with exhibitors in real time.
Class and Demonstration Highlights
**See website for the full schedule. Subject to change.**
Saturday, Sept. 12, at 11:00 am
Chef Susan Notter – Making Chocolate Bars at Home
A graduate of culinary school in England, Susan Notter has coached and won high-level pastry competitions; taught and directed departments at the International School of Confectionary Arts, Culinard, and YTI Career Institute (a prominent Pennsylvania trade school); appeared on several Food Network shows; and created chocolates in Luzerne and Zurich. She now serves as the U.S. Representative of Felchlin, a leading producer of Swiss chocolate and semi-finished products for more than a hundred years. Join Chef Susan as she demonstrates how to make chocolate bars at home using Felchlin chocolate.
Saturday, Sept. 12, at 12:00 pm
Chef Zach Townsend – Baking with Fine Chocolate
Chef Zach Townsend, one of Dallas’ foremost authorities on working with chocolate, will educate, enlighten, and excite participants about the world of chocolate through his fun and informative Baking with Fine Chocolate class. Inspired by friend and Parisian Michel Jambon, founder of the European chocolate company Jeff de Bruges, Chef Zach studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and The French Pastry School in Chicago before founding DallasChocolateClasses.com and Pure Chocolate Desserts by Zach. He is also a magazine contributor, dessert consultant, and French-to-English translator of cookbooks. He is often seen judging chocolate competitions and participating in fundraising affairs.
Saturday, Sept. 12, at 4:00 pm
Carla D. Martin, PhD – What Makes Chocolate “Good?”
Carla D. Martin, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute (FCCI) and a Lecturer in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Her work at the FCCI focuses on identifying, developing, and promoting fine cacao and chocolate, primarily by addressing ethics, quality issues, and politics in the supply chain. Carla will lead an informative, conscious-arousing chocolate tasting while diving into the history and culture of the multi-billion-dollar business of cacao and chocolate. The chocolate box, part of the full-access Festival pass, will include chocolate samples for this guided class.
Sunday, Sept. 13, at 11:00 am
Chef Brian Donaghy – Simple Techniques for Chocolate at Home
Chef Brian Donaghy is the Corporate Chocolatier and Chocolate Program Manager at Tomric Systems, Inc., a company known worldwide for being a pioneer in the design, manufacture, distribution, and sale of chocolate molds, equipment, packaging, tools, and utensils. Well-versed with the North American confectionery industry, Chef Brian is responsible for all customer training on Selmi chocolate equipment at Tomric. Follow along as Chef Brian shares his wealth of knowledge to make the oftentimes complex topic of making chocolate ganache at home simple and fun.
Sunday, Sept. 13, at 4:00 pm
Ben Rasmussen – Bean-to-Bar in an Absurdly Small Chocolate Factory
Ben Rasmussen is the chocolate maker and owner of Potomac Chocolate, the first bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Take a cyber step inside his absurdly small workshop for a tour to see how he transforms raw cacao into award-winning craft chocolate. Hand-crafting every bar – from roasting, cracking, and winnowing the cacao beans, refining and conching, to tempering and molding – he works to coax out only the best flavors from the cacao bean in every step of the process.
The 11th Annual Dallas Chocolate Festival is made possible by Central Market, Alto, CocoTerra, and FestEvents.
ABOUT DALLASCHOCOLATE.ORG
DallasChocolate.org was started in June of 2009 with the goal of promoting artisan chocolate in Dallas. Founder Sander Wolf wanted to educate budding foodies about the complex processes and hand-crafted skill that result in a refined chocolate experience. In addition to sharing local and global chocolate news, DallasChocolate.org hosts its signature event, The Dallas Chocolate Festival, every autumn. What started in 2009 as a simple event featuring two bean-to-bar chocolate makers has exploded into one of the “must do” events for Dallas foodies. Featuring chocolate samples from industry innovators the world over, the event now features dozens of chocolatiers and chocolate makers, demonstrations, and even workshops. DallasChocolate.org is dedicated to promoting local chocolate artisans and continually educating chocolate lovers about the dynamic, innovative, and delicious world of artisan chocolate. For more information, visit www.dallaschocolate.org or follow @DallasChocolate on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Presented by DallasChocolate.org, the 11th Annual Dallas Chocolate Festival, “The World of Chocolate – In a Box,” will be held virtually Sept. 12 & 13, 11am – 5pm, at www.dallaschocolate.org. The Full-Access Festival Pass is $50 including the chocolate box featuring samples from over 30 exhibitors and interactive chats, classes, demonstrations, and tastings with chocolate makers from across the world. Chocolate boxes will be delivered by Alto for an additional $10 delivery fee (limited to the DFW Metroplex area) and may also be shipped to festivalgoers outside the Metroplex area for an additional postage fee. Access to only the virtual events (excluding chocolate box) will be available the week of the Festival for $5. The last day to purchase the full-access Festival pass is September 2. Passes can be purchased at www.dallaschocolate.org.
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In Photo: Chocolate samples from the 2019 Dallas Chocolate Festival.
Photo Credit: Kathy Tran