Chocolate Demonstrations

Chocolate Espresso pavé

Friday Demonstrations

• 9:00 and 11:00am – Farm tours at the Original Hawaii Chocolate Factory-ticketed separately, 808-322-2626 or email info@ohcf.us
• 12:30-1:30pm - Tom Sharkey, Cocao Farmer/Restauranteur – How to create a cacao farm and what it takes to succeed.
• 2:00-4:00pm – David Elliott/Co-Founder-Madre Chocolate – How to make chocolate from bean to bar: Every participant will take a chocolate bar home with them.
• 4:30-5:30pm – Nat Bletter/Co-Founder-Madre Chocolate – Madre chocolate and fine whiskey pairing

Saturday Demonstrations 

• 9:00-11:00 am – Chef Stanton Ho-Chef Consultant- “How To Make a espresso Pavé “.  And also a demonstration on making a white chocolate fruit and nut cluster bar.

Celebrity Chef Stanton Ho

Celebrity Chef Stanton Ho will be creating a dark chocolate espresso pavé  for the demonstration he will be offering for $55 on Sat. March 23 starting at 9:00 AM at the Fairmont Orchid.

A pavé, in its simplest form, can be called a flat piece of truffle that gets cut into thin slices and served with a sauce or whipped cream or many more things.

Stan creates a pavé with thin layers of moist chocolate cake layered with a rich dark chocolate ganache and covered in a creamy chocolate frosting.

This concoction sits on a bed of hazel nut praline (paste). This is a true chocolate decadence. Chef Ho will also be demonstrating his white chocolate fruit and nut cluster bar.

All attendees to this session will be given tastings of the final creations.

• 11:30-1:30 – Chef David Brown-”How to make hand dipped tropical truffles”, this is where you can get your hands in some serious chocolate; chef Brown will demo how to make a ganache, roll it into a ball, dip in dark chocolate and finally roll it again in crushed nuts or cocoa powder. Participants can dip and roll, and of course taste.

Get Your Tickets Today

Gala Event | March 23rd

The highlight of the decidedly decadent festival is the colorful and tasty 5:30-10 p.m. gala with tempting sweet and savory chocolate creations prepared by top island chefs, chocolatiers and confectioners.

Savor a friendly culinary competition where you can vote for People’s Choice in a host of categories including mouth-watering bonbons.

Live entertainment by Bump City; dancing; fine wine and hand-crafted ale tasting; plus a silent auction.

A veritable Who’s Who in the world of chocolate—both locally and nationally— has been invited to serve as celebrity culinary judges and educational presenters including Stanton Ho, Rhonda Ashton and David Brown.

New this year

Savory mole bar

To balance the chocolate, we are offering a mole bar which is a chocolate based, Mexican sauce served with beef, chicken and tofu for your enjoyment. We will also have fresh and local vegetables.

Wine and beer tasting

Instead of providing two tickets for beverages this year, our sponsors are offering their wines and ales for unlimited tasting.

Chocolate sculpture

Chef Donald Wressell from Guittard Chocolates will be creating a 40 lb chocolate sculpture live during the Gala.

Other chocolatey fun includes daytime cacao farm tours and compelling educational demonstrations on both Friday, March 22nd and Saturday March 23rd at the Fairmont Orchid.

Presented by the Kona Cacao Association, Inc., BICF benefits the $1 million “Equip the Kitchens” campaign for the future Hawai‘i Community College-Palamanui and efforts to build a community amphitheatre at the Waldorf-inspired Kona Pacific Public Charter School in Kealakekua.

The Fairmont Orchid is offering discounted room rates of only $249 which includes breakfast.