Next Chocolate Tasting & More’s Downtown Portland Chocolate Walk Scheduled for Saturday, December 8th
Local chocolate enthusiast and science instructor, Savina Darzes, has announced that her next Downtown Portland Chocolate Walk will be held on Saturday, December 8th, from 1-4:30 pm. Participants will walk and eat their way through the neighborhoods on foot to 6 main locations that offer that blessed confection and nature’s perfect food—chocolate. Note: Reg Deadline is 10 am that morning.
“I’ve had the pleasure of providing chocolate tasting and education programs in classrooms and at corporate events on the West Coast for over 25 years now,” said Savina recently. “Other major cities offer chocolate tours and the Portland Metro has some excellent chocolate related businesses. So I felt it was time to go from the classroom to the “field” so to speak.” Savina began offering the walks in October 2007.
Although culinary walking tours have existed in Portland for some time, these were the first tours specifically dedicated to all things chocolate. She went on to describe the events, “I will be covering specifics on how chocolate is created from the tree to your taste buds, giving some information about local history and architecture and we’ll, of course, be enjoying plenty of chocolate. The response from businesses and participants alike has been very positive and enthusiastic. The businesses get a captive group to show off their best chocolate creations and the participants get a personal showing and tasting. It’s a real win-win situation.”
The route, which is sure to become known as “one of the sweetest stretches in the Portland Metro,” covers approximately 1 1/2 miles and takes a little over 3 hours to complete. The guided tour is designed to introduce participants to Portland’s lively chocolate scene and expose them to obvious and also more hidden locations. Chocolate lovers will savor delectable samples in the form of bars, confections, drinks and desserts, as they walk off the extra calories.
Said Savina, “You can think of these walks as neighborhood searches for all things chocolate. Our three different chocolate routes (Downtown Portland, Lake Oswego and Pearl/West End) are a great way for residents and visitors alike to explore the most delicious nooks and crannies of Metro neighborhoods. We stay, on average, 15-20 minutes at each location so guests can really get a feeling of each establishment. I also limit the enrollment to 10 walkers in order to make sure everyone has a chance to ask questions and keep things personal.”
Pre-registration is required. Deadline for registration is 10 am the day of the program. To secure a spot and for more information, please visit http://www.ChocolateTastingAndMore.com/tours.htm. Meeting location and other helpful tips will be send upon receipt of registration.