Northwest Chocolate Festival Awards

This evening I attended the opening event for the Northwest Chocolate Festival, which officially begins tomorrow. I met with several of the chocolate makers and chocolatiers, mingled with others of the chocolate world, saw a preview of some of the classes, and tasted a few samples.

Prior to NWCF, six judges did a blind tasting of many bars that were sent in advance for judging. Judged awards were given in two categories: Single Origin and Inclusions.

In the judged Single Origin category, the winners were:

• GOLD: Fresco 214 Madagascar
• GOLD: Fresco 219 Papua New Guinea
• SILVER: Pacari Manabi (Ecuador)
• BRONZE: Dandelion Rio Caribe (Venezuela)

In the judged Inclusions (flavored chocolate) category, the winners were:

• GOLD: Lillie Belle Farms The Most Awesome Chocolate Bar Ever
• SILVER: Madre Triple Cacao
• BRONZE: Madécasse Arabica Coffee

They also gave out non-judged Founder's Choice awards, including:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Fran Bigelow of Fran's Chocolates
• Most Outstanding Fine Chocolate Retailer: Lauren Adler's Chocolopolis
• Best Flavor Innovation: Aaron Barthel of Intrigue Chocolates
• Best New Dessert Shop: Autumn Martin's Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

You can still buy tickets at the door for this weekend ($30 per day) on the third floor of the Conference Center at the Washington State Convention Center.