Chocolatier Eric Gilbert, owner of Island Chocolates in Prince Edward Island, was the guest presenter over the weekend at the Fete du Chocolat held at the Fortress of Louisbourg. Photo by ROSEMARY GODIN/CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentOnce you’ve tasted chocolate made by expert chocolatiers in Atlantic Canada, you may never buy an ordinary chocolate bar ever again. 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Article contentArticle contentThree vendors and chocolate-makers attended Saturday and Sunday’s event with samples of their chocolate wares, demonstrations and products for sale. Article contentArticle contentThis year’s wine and taste event was led by Prince Edward Island’s Eric Gilbert. A chocolatier and owner of Island Chocolates in Victoria by the Sea, Gilbert led people who paid $25 each through a slide show of the process of growing cacao in the Amazon Rain Forest. Article contentGilbert provided guests with samples of five different chocolates made at Island Chocolates with beans from five different countries. The chocolates were paired with a flight of wines or a bottle of sparkling water to clean the palette between samples. Article content One of the main events at the weekend’s Fete du Chocolat at the Fortress of Louisbourg was a wine and chocolate pairing presented by an Atlantic chocolatier and Grand Pre Wines. Above, 4th year engineering student Arnav Gugnani of the Canadian Coast Guard Academy, was one of the volunteers who helped by serving the flights of wine used to clean the palettes of people between chocolate samples. Eric Gilbert of Island Chocolates in Prince Edward Island provided his chocolate to sample and led an informational slide show. Photo by ROSEMARY GODIN/CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentGilbert is familiar with the entire business and production of chocolate. Not only does he travel to coffee-producing countries to personally choose the beans his family-run business uses, but in his earlier days as a student, he worked at some rainforest operations doing everything from constructing flats to hold the seedlings and plants, to growing and harvesting cacao. Article contentArticle contentHe began his talk by describing the recipe for his smooth, silky dark chocolates. Article content“Cacao beans and sugar. And that’s all you need,” he said. Article contentAnd the resulting taste and texture is perfection. If you compare ingredients of Atlantic chocolatiers’ products to those in a candy bar you buy at the store, and you’ll have some questions.Article content Chocolate lovers descended upon the Fortress of Louisbourg over the weekend for its annual Fete du Chocolat. Above, Camille Couineau, left, and Albert Vroubel — both students at the Canadian Coast Guard Academy in Westmount — volunteered to staff a demonstration about the grinding process of coffee beans into chocolate. The students handed out sticks dipped in the raw chocolate to demonstrate how bitter it is. Photo by ROSEMARY GODIN/CAPE BRETON POSTArticle contentWORK AND SKILLArticle contentBut Gilbert says all those extras in a common candy bar are to substitute for the natural cocoa butter that — after seeing the process used to winnow and extract the oil butter from a cacao pod — explains why it’s a little pricey. It takes work and skill to produce good chocolate. Article content“We’re willing to pay a premium price to have a relationship with growers who take the time to cure the beans the proper way,” Gilbert says. Article contentHe explained that good chocolate will melt quickly in the hand, and especially in the mouth. Most of his products are 70 per cent or more made from cacao (cocoa beans). The rest is sugar with no other additives.
Annual Fortress of Louisbourg event proves good chocolate deserves luxury title
