Adventures in chocolate

Five-year old Laurren Croyles takes a big bite of a chocolate delight at Pete’s Gourment Booth during the chocolate festival on March 5, 2007 File photo by Orville Hector | Daily Tidings

This weekend’s Fourth Annual Ashland Chocolate Festival is more than just gobbling exotic chocolate truffles. It also offers artwork, coffee and chocolate sugar scrubs, fancy dinners and seminars.

Karolina Wyszynska, marketing director for the Ashland Springs Hotel, said the festival was created to highlight all the “wonderful” chocolatiers in Oregon.

“Especially here in Southern Oregon,” she said. “It made me think, ‘Why not put this together so everyone could know about them’.”

Wyszynska said she selected March for the festival because it’s traditionally a slow time in Ashland, and that every year more and more people attend the event.

“The first year 450 people attended. The following year those numbers doubled and last year 1,100 came,” she said. “Eventually it will out grow the hotel.”

Wyszynska said the chocolate festival is really an Ashland celebration and that a variety of businesses participate in some way. Many, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, offer discounts throughout the weekend.

The Ashland Gallery Association organized a Chocolate and Art Walk and the ScienceWorks offers a hands-on opportunity to learn the art of making chocolate, both on Friday night.

New to the festival this year is a Chocolate Makers’ Dinner Friday evening at the hotel’s Crystal room. Damon Jones, the executive chef from Larks restaurant, will prepare a three-course dinner, which includes a slow roasted Tawanda Farms leg of lamb with a green chili mole sauce and a chocolate trio dessert selection.

Representatives from Eugene’s Ke Kau Chocolatiers and Ashland’s Dagoba Organic Chocolate will discuss the culinary art of chocolate during the dinner.

Wyszynska said if people are pressed for time, the one event she’d strongly suggest is the vendor tasting booths in the hotel from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Walk around and taste the different creations and be adventurous with chocolate,” she said. “Silly Rabbit Chocolate created a peanut butter, celery truffle—saying the idea came from kids creating a celery, peanut butter, chocolate chip snack after school.”

Wyszynska said many unusual creations will be offered, like blue cheese chocolate truffles, as well as “El Chipotle” and “Thai Curry” spiced chocolates.

For a full schedule of festival events, visit www.AshlandSpringsHotel.com.

Reach reporter Michele Mihalovich at 482-3456 x226 or mmihalovich@dailytidings.com.