Where better to spend National Chocolate Week than in the birthplace of the KitKat, Smarties and Terry’s Chocolate Orange, and Britain’s home of chocolate.
Yorkshire’s finest flavours, including ginger parkin, rhubarb and Wensleydale cheese, will be given a chocolate makeover by the chocolatiers at York’s CHOCOLATE Story, where visitors can also discover chocolate’s origins, how to make it, how to taste like an expert and make their own chocolate creation to take home. Meet the chocolate experts and sample their wares
Learn the tricks of the trade at the ‘Meet Our Chocolate Expert’ events being hosted by world-famous Bettys at their celebrated Café Tea Rooms at St Helen’s Square, on Monday 14 October, and Stonegate, Sunday 20 October (both from 11.00am-12.00pm).
. Experts from their Chocolate Team will be talking about how they craft their delicious chocolates and answering questions. Throughout National Chocolate Week Bettys will also be offering chocolate samples, including Champagne Truffles, Vanilla Caramel Hearts and Piedmont Hazelnut Pralines, and a Chocolate Tasting Plate, consisting of a tasting-size Hot Chocolate, Bettys’ rich Cru Sauvage Truffle made with rare Bolivian cocoa, a dainty Chocolate Macaroon and a miniature handmade Chocolate Brownie (available between 6- 19 October).
Tales of Terrys, the Chocolate Factory and more As well as telling the story of the Terry family and the confectionary they made in their famous chocolate factory, Goddard’s (home to Noel Terry and his family from 1927-1980) will be holding blindfolded taste tests of chocolates, chocolate box design competitions and offering chocolate trails for families.
Witness the traditional skills of chocolate making in the production kitchen at York’s CHOCOLATE Story as the team of chocolatiers demonstrate the forgotten art of hand-dipping chocolate – the technique used before machines aided chocolate manufacturing. At its peak, over 14,000 people worked in York’s chocolate factories.
Calorie-free chocolate experiences York’s fat-free chocolate experiences include: Wash in chocolate! – ‘chocolate’ soap handmade in York by the Yorkshire Soap Company uses cocoa butter as an ingredient and is available as a cupcake, truffles or a slice of cake.
Walk chocolate – enjoy a delicious walk through York’s rich and colourful history of chocolate and all things sweet on the Chocolate Trail or follow the famous footsteps of Rowntree on the Rowntree Trail Breathe chocolate – the smell of chocolate being made in the Nestle factory fills the air in the city streets .
Learn the skill of chocolate making – book on a free workshop at the York Cocoa House and find out about the chocolate making process, from grinding cocoa beans to making a chocolate bar. Places for the one-hour workshops (Monday 13 to Friday 17, 5.00pm-6.00pm) must be booked in advance.
‘When it comes to chocolate nowhere compares with York. York’s reputation as the city of chocolate dates back to the 20thcentury when Joseph Rowntree and Joseph Terry set up shop, and continues today through the local artisan chocolate makers and skilled chocolatiers that fill York’s restaurants, shops and hotels with the most delectable cakes, pastries, chocolates and desserts,’ said Kate McMullen, Head of Visit York.
For more information about the many different ways to enjoy chocolate in York or to book a delicious chocolate break in York, go to visityork.org/chocolate
