chocolate
chocolate-101.Com

Chocoholics will be in heaven this weekend, when celebrity chefs dish up decadent desserts at the fourth annual Chocolate Festival in the Hunter Valley Gardens.

Cooking stars including Better Homes and Gardens’ Fast Ed, macaroon maestro Adriano Zumbo and MasterChef’s Justine Schofield will demonstrate how to make mouth-watering truffles, cakes, pastries, breads and desserts.

“If you like chocolate, it’s the place to be,” says Fast Ed aka Ed Halmagyi.
He should know. Chocolate has a special place in Ed's heart. He wooed his wife with chocolate.

Fifteen years ago, Ed was cooking in a restaurant when he spotted a beautiful brunette. He decided to make her a chocolate dessert she would never forget.

Ed brought out his delicious creation to his future wife and told her that he wanted to meet her. The chocolate-loving pair have been together ever since.

Ed recommends men looking to meet a special someone should follow his approach and learn to cook with chocolate. “Trust me, it works,” he says.

This weekend, the talented chef known for his “less is more” approach, will show people how to whip up effortless chocolate creations, including the world’s simplest chocolate mousse as well as prawns smoked in cocoa.

“I’ll be showing people the kind of dessert they can make any night of the week”, he says.

To learn Ed’s top tips for cooking with chocolate, see below.

Ed’s top tips

1)  Milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate are all very different. You can’t substitute one for another.

2)  Chocolate should never be heated above 52 degrees centigrade unless you’re baking it. It’s best to melt chocolate slowly to ensure a smoother finished product.

3) When you’re working with chocolate, you get what you pay for. Avoid compound chocolate, which Ed says is not really chocolate at all. Give cooking chocolate a miss, because it’s full of stabilisers and artificial flavours. Instead, aim to cook with couverture chocolate “that’s really the stuff to go for,” says Ed.

Chocolate Festival

The two day event will feature a Callebaut showpiece competition, where Adriano Zumbo will judge the best work of art made from chocolate.

The kids can join in the fun at the Cup Cake Kitchen, where they can create and decorate their own cupcakes.

The littlies can also gorge themselves silly at at the Ice Cream Sundae Eating Competition.

Visitors looking to stock up on their favourite chocolate treats should head to the Chocolate Pavilion, where they can sample a great range of gourmet chocolates from NSW's top chocolate Boutiques.

Tags:  chocoholics chocolate cooking demonstrate macaroon chocolate truffles