28 October 2018
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Cork will host a major Chocolate and Baking Weekend this November with world-renowned chocolatiers and bakers descending to showcase their love of all things sweet.
Cork Chocolate Weekend, Meet the best chocolatiers in Ireland.
Picture by Shane O’Neill, SON Photographic
The Cork Chocolate and Baking Weekend will return to The Cork International Hotel on 23rd to the 25th November 2018. Chocolatiers and bakers from Ireland and abroad will host a weekend of events and workshops centred around chocolate. There will also be some very special Christmas themed baking events as part of the weekend. World renowned chocolatier, Paul A Young will be flying in from London and will be taking part in events over the weekend alongside Paul Kelly, Executive Pastry Chef from The Merrion Hotel and judge on The Great Irish Bake Off.
The event will be open to the public on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th November 2018, from 11am – 5.30pm each day. Throughout the weekend visitors will enjoy mini tasting rooms, with 30 minute tasting sessions.
While the main exhibitor area will feature a variety of chocolatiers and bakers, a large marquee will host chocolate and baking cookery demonstrations. It is here that “The Great Cork Bake Off” will take place on Sunday. There will also be a children’s zone on the first floor with workshops for the younger guests who are budding bakers. In the mini tasting rooms, guests can enjoy 30 minute tasting sessions and get a further in depth culinary education regarding cocoa content within chocolate.
On Friday 23rd November, the annual Cork Chocolate Dinner will take place with guest chefs cooking individual courses featuring chocolate in a subtle way.
General Manager of the Cork Airport Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “This is a must see event for people who love chocolate and baking. We have made a number of enhancements and changes to this year’s Cork Chocolate and Baking Weekend and we are really looking forward to having people come and experience the magic of chocolate over the weekend. This is such a fantastic event and I would advise people to book early as we had huge interest last year.”
Weekend packages are available on www.corkinternationalhotel.com or for the day events are €15 per person and include access to the fair, cookery demonstrations and workshops for the three hour period. There will also be children’s tickets on sale for €5 – and will also include children’s workshops. Tickets will be available to purchase in advance for either the 11am – 2pm slot or the 2.30pm – 5.30pm slot.
The Cork International Hotel is part of the Trigon Hotel Group, which has 334 guest rooms across three hotels in Cork. The group comprises of the Cork International Hotel, The Metropole Hotel and the Cork Airport Hotel. Some of the other events which took place at the hotels over the last 12 months include the Cork Cheese Week, The Oyster and Seafood Festival and The Cork Craft Show.
