The Academy of Chocolate hosts a variety of chocolate events including talks, tastings, debates, dinners and conferences. Most recently, they hosted an evening with the eccentric and rather brilliant Josef Zotter of Zotter Schokoladen. The event was held at the beautiful Cafe Royal Hotel and included an extensive tasting of many Zotter chocolates (with a few surprises!).
Josef was there with his son and his son’s girlfriend and was interviewed by the Academy’s Marc Demarquette. We were given samples of fish chocolate (more of a marshmallow-filled chocolate of which they made from stewed fish bones) and pig’s blood chocolate as well as some single origins from across the globe (Josef’s favourite bean is from Peru and he speaks very highly of the people from there) and some delicious filled chocolates. If that wasn’t enough, we were also given a syringe of buffalo worm chocolate to take home with us!
The two hour interview flew by and the audience was captivated by Josef’s stories of “crazy” chocolate recipes, working ethically with cocoa farmers (as well as sugar farmers – always 100% Fairtrade, no mass-balance) and the ups and downs of owning a craft chocolate business.
Here are a couple of clips from the thoroughly entertaining interview:
And a peak at the amazing selection of chocolates we tasted!
A few of us who attended this event want to visit Zotter’s chocolate factory in Austria next year. Let me know if you are interested in joining us!