The fourth annual Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival is back and ready to tempt tastebuds with the most divine and decadent hot chocolate beverages imaginable. They say that chocolate leads to pure feelings of happiness… and we totally agree…
The citywide fundraising festival involves 25 local “choc stars” who have each created their own unique choc-concoction to satisfy your sweet tooth. From now until Valentine’s Day you can indulge in over 60 different flavours of hot chocolate, with the proceeds benefiting the Downtown Eastside women’s job training program of the PHS Community Services Society and East Van Roasters.
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If you’re looking for something completely out-of-the-box to shock your palate, why not try one of the more unusual flavours of drinking chocolate on the menu, including potato chips, smoke, saffron and parmesan cheese?
We decided to go a little more mainstream for our first outing and headed straight for well-known Vancouver chocolatier Chocolate Arts. We were thrilled to receive a bowl cradling a heavenly scoop of housemade chocolate ice cream and a small pitcher of liquid Mexican chocolate and chili deliciousness to pour over it. Named “A Snowball’s Chance in Hell,” this sinfully good treat warmed us up on a chilly Vancouver afternoon, and the accompanying flourless chocolate cookie was the perfect pairing.
Over the next 28 days, we will be visiting several of our favourite local purveyors (Thomas Haas, Beaucoup Bakery and Bel Cafe, to name only a few!) for a cocoa “hit.” This year’s festival features a chocoholic-friendly walking map to help you scour the city for the best venues, flavours and hot chocolate concoctions. Get even more social and tweet a photo of your hot choc of choice to be entered to win gift certificates valued at up to $500.
For a full listing of the participating cafes, bakeries and chocolatiers, click here and get tasting!
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