SOLD OUT!! Saturday, September 10th is the BIG DAY for the Dallas Chocolate Festival. We’ll have tons of things going on, that you surely don’t want to miss. Attractions include:
- Main Hall with treats to sample and purchase from more than 40 vendors.
- VIP Early entrance at 9:00AM (Meet the chocolate artisans.)
- 4 General Admission Entrance times: 10:00AM (sold out), 11:30AM, 1:00PM, & 2:30PM. The grounds are open to all ticket holders starting at 10:00. Entrance times are for the main hall.
- The Whole Foods Classroom in the stone cottage, featuring presentations from our vendors. Hosted by Kandace Kreuger from Today with Kandace
- Live demos hosted by Madamme Cocoa from the floor of the main hall
- Discounted Children’s Tickets
- An Interactive Kids Table, sponsored by Whole Foods
- A Silent Auction supporting the DallasChocolate.org scholarship fund. Money raised from this auction goes to support culinary school scholarships at local colleges for students wishing to pursue the pastry arts.
- Food Trucks
- Gift Shop
- Free Parking
Whole Foods Classroom Schedule
Come to the stone cottage to experience in depth chocolate presentations. Seats are first come, first seated. Presentations will begin on the hour starting at 11:00AM. The Whole Foods Demonstration Stage is hosted by Kandace Kreuger of Today with Kandace.
11:00AM: Unlocking Chocolate’s Many Flavors with Roasting and Conching
by Rob Anderson of Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA)
Exceptional chocolate is created through a series of events. Change any one event and the outcome is a new creation. Two of these events are roasting and conching. Attendees will experience how changing cocoa roasting levels can dramatically affect chocolate flavors. Next, we’ll discover that when chocolate is subjected to heat, aeration and motion, another remarkable flavor change occurs. This is conching. This interactive presentation includes tasting several chocolates with varying roast and conche levels to experience flavor changes first hand.
12:00 Noon Chocolate Coming Attractions
with Tessa Halstead (Chocolaterie Tessa – Austin, TX)
Art Pollard (Amano Artisan Chocolate – Orem, UT)
Ben Rasmussen (Potomac Chocolate – Woodbridge, VA)
Carla Barboto (Pacari Chocolate – Quito, Equador)
Pam Eudaric-Amiri (Chocolate Secrets – Dallas, TX)
Chocolate has evolved through the years. Originally a drink, chocolate is now enjoyed as a bar, a decorated confection, and as an ingredient in almost any type of food. We’ll explore what’s next for chocolate with people that are constantly pushing its boundaries. Chocolate experts from different parts of the industry and the world will share their insights and predictions for the future of chocolate.
1:00 PM Creative Cookies
by Paul Wackym (Wackym’s Kitchen)
It’s not just his hats that are unique. Paul Wackym started his namesake cookie company in Dallas and has watched it expand as he evolves to take on new challenges, such as sourcing and expanding his own kitchen space and adding equipment to accommodate product diversification. Wackym has taken on a traditional product and made it his own. And then there’s the flavors — hatch chocolate chip and cornmeal rosemary shortbread sit right alongside the more traditional lemon cookie. Wackym will discuss his business and flavor inspirations while sampling his creations.
2:00 PM Baking with Fine Chocolate
by Gianni Santin (Haute Sweets Patisserie)
As co-owner of Haute Sweets Patisserie along with Tida Pichakron, Santin uses his years of experience in huge hotels and award winning restaurants to craft stunningly elegant sweets. That doesn’t mean that his shop is a stuffy place reserved only for high tea. There are lines out the door for the monthly Coffee and Beignets events and towers of macaroons in every color of the rainbow.
3:00 PM Painting with Chocolate
by Chocolate Secrets – Libby Addleman (pastry chef)
Watch the talented chocolatiers at Dallas’s Chocolate Secrets as they reveal a bit of the magic used to create their colorful chocolates. Using different techniques to apply color to dark chocolate bon bons they transform the glossy chocolate into something almost too pretty to eat. The colors, besides being fun to look at, help give their customers a clue as to what flavors are hidden inside each delectable orb.
Event Details
Come for a day of chocolate fun with your friends and family. Taste chocolate made from single-sourced cacao beans – and meet the artisan who made it! Learn about the difference between truffles and bon bons. And, of course, purchase your favorites to bring home and enjoy.
Where: Addison Conference Centre (15650 Addison Rd.)
When: Saturday, September 10th. Doors open at 9:00AM for VIPs, General Admission opens at 10:00AM.
Ticket Information
General admission: $25
VIP (9:00AM entry, good bag and event t-shirt): $75
Child (12 & Under): $5
