I love chocolate and I know that many of you do as well and I’m so happy to be attending some of these amazing chocolate inspired events that will be taking place around the Vancouver area over the next month.

There are over 50 events to choose from for the whole family including specials events for kids and for seniors as well

The festival kicks off at Panache on Friday October 15^th with an elegant evening of chocolate, wine, hand crafted gelato, XFour martinis, Quady Wines, chocolate martinis, canapes, savouries, sweets, and all things that go with chocolate.

Panache includes chocolates from Callebaut, Rubens Chocolate, Hagensborg, and XOXOLAT; samples of chocolate afternoon tea from Rowena’s Inn on the River, wines from Saturna Island Winery, Desert Hills Winery, Quady Winery, tea, and coffee; and the fabulous old word handcrafted gelato from Bella Gelateria – a true taste of the festival events that abound across the lower mainland for the next 29 days.

Starting with Prosecco served by Marcus von Albrecht each guest will enjoy the Bisol Winery of Veneto, Italy – Colmei Valdobbiadene Prosecco – Elegant and full, with pronounced fruitiness, the Flavour is well rounded and youthful, soft with emerging fruitiness. Finding a chocolate, savoury or canapé to compliment this fine beverage would be a wonderful taste excursion.

Each station showcases our Chocolate Festival Partners. Each ticket is all inclusive of the stations located all around Vistas. Samples abound, with the opportunity to purchase products at every station. Who could resist that special box of single origin chocolates that XOXOLAT is sampling. Or the fine selection of Chocolates from Rubens Chocolate?

The next beverage to surprise and entice may be the martinis -  chocolate or otherwise. The new XFour Vodka, Handcrafted here in BC in the Okanagan will certainly enhance the conversation.

XFour (TimesFour) is B.C’s first handcrafted premium corn and rye based vodka. Handcrafted and distilled four times by master distiller Frank Deiter who has accumulated over 70 awards for his line of spirits; Xfour is completely additive free and fed with British Columbia’s own pristine glacier water retrieved from a 356 ft deep well. A crystal clear complexion, with hints of fruit and anise.

The canapés and appetizers made by Chef Kevin Greehy will be passed all evening. A delicious assortment of local ingredients, showcasing the talents of the Renaissances’  award winning chef, Chef’s newest restaurant in the hotel, p2b bistro & bar, is a modern, upscale-casual bistro emphasizing fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients used to deliver simply prepared, chef crafted food.

Vistas, 360 Revolving Event Space, top of the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside, hosts the opening event for the 2010 West Coast Chocolate Festival. An elegant room, with a 360 degree view of Vancouver, the vistas balance the tastes and flavours being served.

Purchase tickets to Panache here in advance before they sell out.

Here is the complete schedule of the Chocolate Festival Events.

By: Richard Wolak

Yesterday I attended the launch of a new BC based artisan vodka in a penthouse on the 32nd floor of a building downtown Vancouver with a spectacular view of the city skyline. Xfour, is a sipping vodka, made from rye and corn. I had a preview tasting of this vodka in a Strawberry Cosmo served to me at C Restaurant last week and I enjoyed the smooth taste without the bite at the end.

Xfour Vodka

Xfour is distilled four times and the glacier water is retrieved from a 356 foot well. It was great to see Xoxolat pairing their chocolate with the Xfour vodka in a delicious Chocolate Martini that I had the pleasure of sipping.

Here are a couple of recipes for your own enjoyment.

Xoxolat Xpresso martini
2 parts Xfour
1 part chocolate syrup( for best results, use Xoxolat drinking chocolate)
1 part espresso coffee
Shake, pour, garnish with chocolate espresso bean

Xoxolat Chocoalte martini
2 parts Xfour
1 part chocolate syrup( for best results, use Xoxolat drinking chocolate)
Shake, pour, garnish with a raspberry

By: Richard Wolak

Recipes courtesy of Xfour.