Portugal set for International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival

With more than 30 years of history behind it, the latest edition of the International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival is set to take place in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, celebrating major developments within the sector writes Neill Barston.

The event, which runs between 19-22 October, is set to bring together an eclectic mix of chocoholics and professionals from the chocolate and cacao sector. This year’s festival will comprise of 15 cooking shows, 11 workshops, as well as a total of ten panels as part of a special series of forums.

All the events will be led by leading experts from countries such as Portugal, Brazil, France, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Costa Rica, among others. After reported success of the first European edition, which was attended by more than 50,000 people, the largest chocolate and cacao event in Latin America will once again be held at WOW, in Vila Nova de Gaia, from 19th to 22nd October.

The Chocolate Festival Portugal brings together many different activities: a chocolate market, a children’s area, tastings, cooking shows, lectures, workshops, and concerts. Admission is free, with chefs creating chocolate sculptures live, some of the world’s leading chocolate brands hosting tastings, a ‘Chocoland’ especially for kids and live forums discussing topics from ‘how to harmonise chocolate with wine’ or ‘coffee to cacao agroforestry models’, the Chocolate Festival Portugal is a multitude of events in a single place.

“I’m proud to be hosting the Chocolate Festival at WOW. With our independent museum, The Chocolate Story, and our very own chocolate brand, Vinte Vinte, produced in Porto, I believe we are the right hosts for this festival. We want to be the driving force that helps raise the profile of cacao and origin chocolate in Europe,” highlights Pedro Araújo, creator of The Chocolate Story Museum at WOW and the Vinte Vinte Chocolate brand, as well as co-promoter of the festival.

“Holding the Chocolate Festival in Europe has a well-defined purpose: to create a direct connection between all the links in the production chain of chocolate from origin to final consumer. The festival strengthens the culture and work behind the ‘golden fruit’ or ‘food of the gods’, as cocoa is also known, expanding knowledge about the delights derived from cocoa and promoting origin brands, small industries, agribusiness, tourism, health benefits and gastronomy. Chocolat Portugal is a celebration that transcends borders and cultures and will unite chocolate lovers from all over the world around a shared passion,” adds Marco Lessa, creator of the Chocolate Festival, now in its 33rd edition.

As part of the Chocolate Festival Portugal programme, various professionals and experts from the world of chocolate will be in Gaia. These include: Chloé Doutre Roussel (France), a renowned consultant for several bean-to-bar brands, a judge at the important Academy of Chocolate Awards, the Northwest Chocolate Festival and a member of the Advisory Board of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA). Another key guest will be Spencer Hyman (United Kingdom), founder of Cocoa Runners and a great promoter of bean-to-bar chocolate on the European continent, is a repeat presence at the festival.  They will also be joined by a number of specialists including Mikkel Friis-Holm (Denmark), who is considered among the most respected bean-to-bar chocolatiers, among many others.

Furthermore, the Bean to Bar Associations of Spain, France, Brazil, and Japan will also be present, in an important associative movement that could result in the birth of the Bean-to-Bar Association of Portugal which will certainly define the next steps of this movement. Another new feature this year is the livestreaming of all the talks at the International Chocolate and Cocoa Forum and all the cooking shows in order to reinforce the festival’s international positioning.