The Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie is staging their first Hot Chocolate Festival. This event has become very popular at the Yarra Valley branch of the chocolaterie but this is the first year it is being held at the Great Ocean Road. The festival runs for four weeks, with eight different hot chocolate flavours rotating each week. This means you can try 31 different flavours over the 31 days in August!
Special tasting sessions are held on the weekend, which is where we had the opportunity to taste eight different hot chocolate samples. Each of these flavours are carefully designed by the European qualified chocolatiers that work at the chocolaterie.
The first week of the festival included decadent flavours like Hazelnut-ella, which is made with an in house hazelnut spread made from 45% hazelnuts, Brandy and Orange. There is a flavour designed for the children, and week one had the Sea Creatures hot chocolate which had a white chocolate dome floating on a sea of bubble gum hot chocolate.
Creativity is at a high with flavours like smashed avo with a sweet chilli twist. Whilst the sweet chilli twist was not my favourite, the smashed avo was a surprising winner. The nuttiness of the avocado cut through the sweetness of the white hot chocolate, and together the flavours balanced well.
The Hot Chocolate Festival is a perfect winter warming decadence. From Melbourne, it’s less than an hour’s drive to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie or, just over an hour to the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie. It makes for a great weekend activity, after all, how could you pass up a day filled with chocolate?
– Moni
Moni loves food. No really, she LOVES food. She spends a lot of time eating, cooking, photographing or writing about food.
The Hot Chocolate Festival runs from 1 – 31 August at the Great Ocean Road & Yarra Valley Chocolaterie. Entry is free to watch the chocolatiers at work, grounds to explore and play areas. Tickets can be purchased for tasting sessions for $18.
Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery – 1200 Great Ocean Rd, Bellbrae
Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery– 35 Old Healesville Rd, Yarra Glen
