Lilac Bakery's chocolate peanut-butter cupcakes. Photo by Chronic Creative
Valentine's Day may hold the worldwide crown as official chocolate day, but April in Winnipeg is emerging as the month to celebrate the revered sweet.
Ciao! magazine celebrates its eighth edition of Chocolate Fest, an annual, city-wide chocolate extravaganza. From April 1 to 30, participating restaurants dish up specially made chocolate treats for $7 each.
Dessert is just for starters. This year more than 30 Winnipeg-area restaurants are dishing up chocolate-infused sweets, savoury bites and cocktails.
Some of this year's cocoa creations include ice wine served inside a dark Belgian chocolate cup at fusion grill; a chocolate-chile mole bruschetta by Gaffer's restaurant in Lockport; and a chocolate trio—brownie with chocolate-halzelnut ice cream, pâté and chocolate pot de crème—by Mise.
"Every year we are always blown away and inspired. People come up with the most delicious-sounding and creative dishes," says Ciao! magazine editor Erin Bend.
For a list of restaurants and their Chocolate Fest creations click here. (Menus are posted every year by the end of March.)
From 1 to 4 p.m. on April 20 and 21, pick up a $5 passport and explore The Forks Market during Tour de Chocolat. Get your passport stamped after sampling chocolate delicacies from participating restaurants and retailers. This chocolate adventure attracts large crowds every year.
And don't forget Chocoholics Buffet, a new chocolate party to be held April 20, 2013. Check out this Peg City Grub post for more details.
For restaurant advice and the latest food and chef news in Winnipeg follow @PegCityGrub on Twitter.
