Budding chocolatier’s, both young and young at heart, can enjoy a taste bud-tingling masterclass at one of the region’s biggest food festivals next month.
Bishop Auckland Food Festival (BAFF), which boasts 150 producers and traders, returns for a weekend of foodie fun April 23 and 24, with a range of fantastic masterclasses at its heart. BAFF is a Durham County Council event and is partnered by The Auckland Castle Trust and Bishop Auckland Town Council.
Amongst those set to provide mouth-watering entertainment will be Truly Tempting Chocolate. Their indulgent classes will offer would-be chocolatiers a flavour of what it’s like to work with one of the world’s most loved ingredients. There are separate sessions for adults and children for just £5 per person.
They’ll be run by David and Wendy Sanderson from Darlington who pride themselves
on using only quality Belgian chocolate for all of their products, sourcing as many natural ingredients as possible and making many of the added flavours themselves like peanut butter and crystallised ginger.
Looking ahead to another fabulous festival Wendy said: “Bishop Auckland Food Festival is a great event as it’s local to us and we have family that live nearby. Also the quality and variety of food produce is excellent and as most of the stall holders are the producers of the food that is great.
“The best thing about working with chocolate is being creative and coming up with new products and flavours as well as the tasting, it’s also great when customers try our products and the lovely reactions and feedback we get from them.”
With his masterclass planning complete David can reveal exactly what participants can expect: “We run two different chocolate workshops, one for adults and one for children.
The adults get to make two different kinds of chocolate truffles and the children make a chocolate lolly and a chocolate caterpillar.
“We have a lot of fun doing the workshops and really like educating people about good quality chocolate and how it’s made from the cocoa beans, and just having fun and getting messy with our groups as everyone loves chocolate.”
Cabinet member for culture and regeneration, Cllr Neil Foster, said: “The festival masterclasses have proven to be a real hit with foodies and this year we won’t disappoint.
“We are offering 13 different workshops across 26 sessions, ranging from chocolate and charcuterie to cheese and craft beers, but don’t forget to book your place because tickets are selling like hot cakes!”
Details on the full range of classes can be found at http://www.bishopaucklandfoodfestival.co.uk
Tickets for workshops can be purchased in person from Gala Theatre and Cinema box office in Millennium Place in Durham or by calling 03000 266600.