Despite the well-meaning advice of food and fitness gurus the world over, who suggest daily servings of fruit and vegetables, grains and meats, others contend that there are really only three essential food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. A sweet-toothed individual, then, might consider a visit to a chocolate festival not an exercise in indulgence, but a nutritional endeavour instead. Add in a few servings of almonds, marzipan and nougat on top of your cupcakes or truffles, and one could reason that you’re well on your way to a well-balanced diet.
While the logic may be slightly flawed, this is exactly the reasoning that the Chocolate Association (Chokoladeselskabet) wants you to adopt this weekend when the Copenhagen Chocolate Festival comes to TAP1 at Carlsberg. You may not find servings from the healthiest of food groups, but you can instead expect to find superior quality sweets made by some of the world’s finest chocolatiers – over 40 of them, in fact, will exhibit their confections in tastings, workshops and more throughout the weekend.
Whether you’re already an expert or a cacao bean novice, the festival offers something for everyone – from tastings to lectures to demonstrations. On Saturday alone, visitors can enjoy an English-language workshop on the history of chocolate led by British cocoa growers Hotel Chocolat, or join a seminar on chocolate mousse in its various forms.
Looking for a more hands-on experience? Learn how to make chocolate tarts with salted liquorice and tangerines, or try your hand at homemade truffles with Swiss confectioner Beschle Chocolates.
Throughout Saturday, you can also watch the DM chocolate final, where five of Denmark’s most talented trainee chefs will square off in the students’ chocolate championships. The competition begins in the morning and ends with an afternoon awards ceremony in which the ‘champion in chocolate’ is crowned.
Sunday will feature the annual Chocolate Association awards ceremony, honouring the top chocolatiers for their contributions to the world of chocolate. The festivities will also continue in the form of an English lecture on cacao beans and the benefits of consuming them, or the opportunity to watch a chocolate sculpture being constructed from start to finish.
Visitors can even attend a workshop to learn how chocolate is used with chemicals for jokes and pranks, or finish off the weekend on a relaxing note with a chocolate massage. Quickly gaining popularity as a substitute for traditional spa oils, chocolate is said to lower blood pressure when consumed in moderation – and as Raz Spas’s chocolate massages seem to suggest, external application might be equally beneficial.
While there may not be sufficient evidence that a chocolate massage will actually improve your health, the endorphin-induced satisfaction definitely might. So if the weekend programme isn’t sufficient reason to attend, consider a visit to the festival a contribution to your well-being.
Chocolate Festival
Tap1, Ny Carlsberg Vej 91, Cph V; Sat & Sun 10:00-17:00; Tickets: over-6s: 130kr, under-6s: free adm, group of four: 460kr, www.madbillet.dk; www.chokoladeselskabet.dk; prams and strollers not allowed, parking nearby
