Chocolate? Yes please!

Our TAS blogger Julie visits LaTrobe’s Chocolate Winterfest and scores an A+ in the best kind of class – Chocolate Appreciation!

It’s absolutely freezing down here in Tassie right now, but thankfully the weather gods have decided to be kind today. Although still crisp, the sun has made a welcome visit, making the Annual Winterfest in Latrobe a fantastic day.

TAS blogger Julie at the Chocolate Masterclass

With over 22 different venues dotted around Latrobe, this year’s festival was bigger than ever and I was lucky enough to take part. First up was the Chocolate Appreciation Class held at Anvers. Always an enthusiastic student I arrived early and was greeted by Igor Van Gerwen himself. Within the first two minutes of meeting Igor I knew I was in for a great time. The House Of Anvers was opened by Igor (who is originally from Belgium) in 2002 and has become a flourishing success with over 120,000 visitors a year.

A class of 10, we were all given our apron (ours to keep!) and stylish looking hair nets (thankfully not ours to keep!). Eager to get started we listened to a short introduction before it was our turn to try the very tricky, but very fun, art of making chocolate.

Making it look oh so simple, Igor (with the help of his delightful assistant Angela) had us making three different types of delicious chocolate. We dipped and rolled and decorated the morning away. Three hours went by fast. Although we didn’t have the most ‘perfect’ looking end products we all had so much fun making them. I would definitely recommend booking early for next year’s class!

Lunchtime! My husband and I were only too happy to try out the High Tea served in the gardens of Anvers. Under a large marquee with warm inviting heaters a small three piece orchestra played as we sipped our hot coffee and sampled some of the delicious pastries and Anver chocolates (the real ones). The high tea is really something special and great value for money – definitely a must!

Ta Da! Results from the Masterclass. Yum!

Now it was time to visit the Dark Brew Tasting, which is where beer is matched to chocolate. My husband (the beer drinker) and I joined the crowd to sample five different beer stalls and the men serving the beer were very well-informed. Chocolate with beer was an unusual concept for John but he really enjoyed tasting the different dark ales and stouts made from Oatmeal. In the end we both decided Moo Brew from a micro brewery at Merilla Estate was our favourite.

Overall, we had a brilliant day and the Winterfest is a great way to sample some of the fantastic taste sensations Tassie has to offer.

Keen to experience your own High Tea or Chocolate Appreciation class? You can with a lastminute.com.au experience! Click here for details