Cioccolatò 2006

Turin’s Annual Chocolate Festival Kicks off with a Hot Night

For chocophiles, Turin is the place to be March 24 to April 2. The Italian city’s fourth annual chocolate festival,Cioccolatò 2006, will feature renowned international chocolatiers. In 2005, more than 700.000 visitors attended  and 30,000 kilograms of chocolate were consumerd. This year, visitors will be able to taste every kind of chocolate, including Torino`s own Gianduia, a mix of cocoa powder and hazelnut from the Piemonte region.

The festival will take place in the heart of the city in the Piazza San Carlo, known as the “drawing room of Turin,” and the Piazza Carignano and Piazza Castello, against the stunning background of two royal residences. As every year, Cioccolatò is not only a chocolate feast, but also a citywide celebration of music, culture, art, and literature. Historic cafés will offer samples of chocolate paired with Barolo Chinato, Vermouth or Moscato, and the night-spots at the Quadrilatero Romano and the Murazzi will highlight music from every cocoa-producing country in the world.

“Notte Calda,” or Hot Night, is the first major event. From dusk to dawn, participants will be able to savor chocolate to the music that will fill the streets and squares. They can also enjoy tales of the evolution of chocolate and culture narrated on street corners throughout the city by students from thee Holden School.

Another feature of the festival is Cocoa Spring, an interactive museum with a cocoa plantation, equipment and machinery, explaining the process that transforms cocoa beans into a bar of chocolate.

Following the success of last year’s competition, Cioccolatò 2006 will once again feature the greatest Chocolate Bake-off in Italy: CioccolaTorta. Thousands of recipes will be tasted, and the winners will then challenge a special guest.

Turin has been named World Design City 2008 and chocolate will pay homage to this title. In the Piazza San Carlo, master chocolatiers will exhibit their works based on the creations of Turin food designers.

Torino`s chocolate makers have produced chocolates, pralines, and chocolate eggs since the 1700s. The most famous is the gianduiotto, the first chocolate candy in history to be wrapped in paper. It was born of necessity in 1865, when an international blockade of raw cocoa from South America made importation extremely difficult and the price prohibitive. This forced local chocolatiers to start incorporating bits of roasted hazelnut, and other ingredients of the region. Giandiuotti is believed to be the creation of Michele Prochet, who completely ground the hazelnuts into a paste before adding them to the traditional cocoa and sugar mix. Recipes created by Turin chocolatier Guido Gobino are considered the best in Europe.

Edited by Patricia D. Sherman

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