Artisanal chocolate and beer: a heavenly marriage at the New Wellington Festival

It’s not my usual way of eating chocolate.

The family-sized block that I usually demolished is replaced with a small bowl of bite-sized chunks. I take one and rub it in the palm of my hand, sending it to my nose. I put the piece in my mouth, letting it slowly melt on my tongue, before washing it off with a sip of beer.

Chocolate and beer might not be the most obvious bedfellows, but they will come together at New Zealand’s first-ever artisanal chocolate festival, Chockstock, to be held in Wellington on the weekend of July 3 to 4. The festival will take place around the capital’s famous food street, Hannahs Laneway.

The beer and chocolate tasting session is a collaboration between two of the pillars of the lane, the Wellington Chocolate Factory and the Fortune Favors brewery.

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Five beers were paired with a different block of chocolate by Florent Souche, in front of the Wellington Chocolate Factory, which Wellington residents might also recognize as the head sommelier at Hippopotamus, the hotel’s French-inspired restaurant. QT.

Souche, who studied his craft in the Rhône Valley region of southern France, is perhaps more accustomed to pairing fine wines with gourmet dishes. But he takes this gig just as seriously.

The first thing to do when tasting chocolate is to look at the color, he says. We know that red wine pairs well with red meat, and this rule of thumb can be applied to other pairings – like dark chocolate pairs well with dark beers like porters and stouts.

You should then rub the chocolate on your palm to warm it up, allowing it to release its delicious aroma. As you would with a glass of wine, sniff it well and try to identify flavor notes.

If your mouth is watering at this point, try not to swallow the chocolate right away, Souche advises. Instead, place it on your tongue and savor it, letting it coat your taste buds. You always want to have leftover chocolate flavor and texture in your mouth when you go for a sip of beer.

The combinations are delightfully unexpected. For example, a bar of milk chocolate with coffee is paired with a hazy IPA.

“These are breakfast flavors – you have latte and cereal,” says Souche.

Then there is a harmony between the bar of dark chocolate with salted caramel, coated with brittle caramel and salt, and a sparkling season. With the scent of the sea coming from the salt and rich textures, this is a accord that is not all that different from another iconic duo.

“Like champagne and oysters,” says Souche.

I might leave with unsightly brown spots on my hands and nose, but I also have a whole new appreciation for artisan chocolate, which is exactly what the organizers of Chocstock – Wellington Chocolate Factory General Manager Matt Williams and Founder of The Chocolate Bar Luke Owen Smith – hope to reach.

“Artisanal chocolate has been around in New Zealand for seven or eight years, but it’s still a bit unknown,” says Williams.

“There is always this education needed to tell the public how we are different from all the other chocolates on the market.”

Wellington’s iconic craft beer festival, Beervana, was the inspiration behind Chocstock, he said.

“We thought, can we somehow replicate this? “

The festival will see eight New Zealand artisan chocolate brands take to the chocolate factory, with ticket holders able to meet with the makers and learn about the bean-to-bar process, with plenty of sampling opportunities and a bar. full-size chocolate included in the ticket price.

In addition to the beer and chocolate tasting at Fortune Favors, there will also be a whiskey and chocolate tasting at Hanging Ditch, the cozy cocktail bar tucked away behind the chocolate factory.

Other businesses on the aisle are also getting involved by offering special chocolate products on their menus on festival weekends, including chocolate pizza at Pizza Pomodoro, chocolate dessert at Shepherd restaurant, chocolate beers at Fortune Favors and Golding’s and an optional chocolate breakfast at the Fix & Fogg peanut butter window.

Williams said he hopes Chockstock becomes an annual event, as synonymous with artisan chocolate as Beervana and craft beer.

“We hope he will return next year and every year thereafter and continue to build on what has been done before.”

Details

Chockstock, Hannahs Laneway, July 3-4. Tickets $ 25.

Beer and chocolate tasting at Fortune Favors, Leeds Street, July 3. Tickets $ 45.

Whiskey and Chocolate Tasting at Hanging Ditch, Hannahs Laneway, July 3rd. Tickets $ 85.

For more information and to book, see wcf.co.nz/chocstock