Coconut Grove Grapevine: Chocolate Festival continues for one more day

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Sunday, January 25, 2015

Chocolate Festival continues for one more day

We checked out the 9th Annual Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Gardens this weekend. Today, Sunday is the final day of the weekend fest. There was no rain, but it did look like snow. But it was warm enough that we had ice cream and frozen hot chocolate from the many vendors and food trucks serving up chocolate and non-chocolate things - like gyros, tacos, cakes, etc.

The Dale Chihuly exhibit is till in all around the gardens, so that's a plus while visiting for the Chocolate Festival. Chihuly is there until May 31, 2015.

There's a lot of sampling and plenty of chocolate presentations on cooking with chocolate, making chocolate and the origins of chocolate.

Our Coconut Grove friends Solar Dogs were performing and Sunday, our friend Ronnie Brooks is there with the BG Ramblers, so it's an all-Grove music venue this weekend. The band play right at the area where the food is, so you can sit at one of the many tables and enjoy.

Of course the star is chocolate and while there are some samples, it's not an event where you sample everything in site, the samples are few and far between; you buy the items you like, and there's plenty to like.

Cupcakes, cakes, a chocolate fountain, frozen hot chocolate and dark and milk chocolate bars are all part of the the fun.

The Sunday lecture schedule is:

11:00 a.m. Lecture by Richard Campbell, Ph.D., FairchildScience Village ClassroomCacao's
Struggle to Survive: Why We Should Care

12:00 p.m. Lecture by Osman Ariel Gutierrez, Ph.D., USDA-ARS
Science Village Classroom
The Genetic Background and Morphological Characterization of Cacao Genotypes from Plantations in Tabasco, Mexico

1:00 p.m. Cooking Demonstration by Danny Diaz, Sweetness Bakeshop & CafeCycad Vista Demonstration Tent
Chocolate Pot de Creme

2:00 p.m. Cooking Demonstration by Chris Bulgarin, Delicious Catering ServicesCycad Vista Demonstration Tent
Five Spice Chocolate Glazed Grilled Colossal Shrimp served on Black garlic Sesame Noodle Salad

3:00 p.m. Cooking Demonstration by Monica Duenas, Ortanique on the Mile
Cycad Vista Demonstration Tent
Chocolate Caramel Brownie

The hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm each day. Tickets are $25 for adults, no charge for Fairchild Members. You may buy tickets at the entrance or here online.

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is located at 10901 Old Cutler Road.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous said...: The event itself was OK. I was expecting more chocolate goodness, but it was pretty much just limited to that one hall.

The gardens and the art stuff were nice though.; January 26, 2015 9:45 AM
Fairchild Membership volunteer said...: To comment #1. Glad you enjoyed the garden and art. But there was so much more. Did you read the Festival brochure and walk around? If so, you would have seen the cooking demonstrations using chocolate, learned about the history of cacao and chocolate, how it is made into its final product, and tasted it. There was also a beer tasting booth with beers made with chocolate, and much more for kids as well as adults.; January 26, 2015 12:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I tried all the beer beer, listened to a couple of people explaining stuff about chocolate and cacao, caught a few minutes of music, and tried the limited samples. The cooking demonstrations started too late for us as we got there at opening time and headed out just past 1, which was a good thing too because parking appeared to be a nightmare for anyone getting there at that time!

Beer and seafood festivals both have plenty of beer and seafood - this being my first time attending, I thought this event would be similar.; January 26, 2015 3:52 PM

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