Austin Chocolate Festival: Fourth Year and Growing

By Lesa L Russo

When I entered the Monarch Event Center in Austin, I was greeted with the sweet smell of chocolate, funky jazz music, and a taste of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. The music group consisted of a tiny lady in a red cocktail dress on the string bass, a hip young lady playing drums, a man with a long white beard on guitar, and a vocalist throwing back familiar old tunes. Good start to the evening.

When I was given my 16 tickets at the entrance, I was told, “Pick up a Chinese-to-go box to put your samples in”. In the first room I was overwhelmed by the gorgeous displays of chocolates. A stop at Payton’s Chocolate yielded a yummy peanut butter chocolate treat (It didn’t make it to my box). Brad Payton, a certified pastry chef, graduated from high school in Round Rock, a suburb of Austin; went to Texas Culinary Academy in Austin and returned home to open Payton’s Chocolate. Truly an Austin experience so far.

The Chocolate Lady delivers custom hand-painted chocolate art. Based in Austin, Paula Simpson is one of a few chocolate artisans in the country. Her display of chocolate art was absolutely breath-taking. I found it hard to believe that it was 100 percent chocolate but it truly was.

Cruising on down the row I encountered organic chocolate, gluten free chocolate, and many more beautiful and enticing displays. Working this hard to sample chocolates made me thirsty. I came across Lola Savannah coffee from Houston. Roasted daily, the coffee is available to local and mail-order customers. A taste of the coffee was great with a delectable Chile Lime chocolate from Luxe Treats.

Kevin’s Cookies is a popular cookie delivery company in Austin. Delivery is quick and students as well as businesses can afford this wonderful treat. The Tipsy Texan, a cocktail and coffee catering company, offered both tequila and rum tastings to accompany the chocolate.

The second room offered just as many treats as the first. La Madeline, a French patisserie with outlets statewide, tempted festival goers with a chocolate croissant that could be accompanied by peach sangria from a neighboring booth. The Austin Cake Ball offered yummy cake truffles. Jeffery Lorien of Zhi Organic teas handed out tastings of a variety of teas. He was also selling as many teas as he gave away. His teas can be found in restaurants and coffee houses throughout the city and he has recently opened his own shop on Bolm Road. A good and good for you cup of tea.

Although my Chinese-to-go box did not get a lot of business, I most certainly enjoyed my tour of the Austin Chocolate Festival. I discovered that it is primarily a local event. From the sponsors to the vendors to the promoters, most have an Austin connection.

Fat Turkey Chocolate owners, Steven and Jennifer Flood hosted the 4^th Annual event. Jennifer told to me that the main goals of the festival are to promote and support Susan G. Komen for the Cure, local small food businesses, and the pursuit of gourmet foods. Jennifer indicated that more than $5,000 has been raised at the past three festivals to benefit of the Komen Foundation. Floods hope to double that for the 2009 festival.

A trip to Austin to the 5^th Annual Chocolate Festival in 2010 would be a worthy trip. Check the www.austinchocolatefestival.com to get on the mailing list to receive information about upcoming events.

Lesa L. Russo is a Dallas-based public relations consultant and travel writer.

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