Internationally acclaimed chocolatier Rachael King will be one of scores of exhibitors at this year’s Aroma Coffee and Chocolate festival, showcasing her decadent pieces of edible art to the 15,000 people tipped to attend the event.
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Last year Rachael, a young Lorn mum of three, took out the prestigious Callebaut Sydney Royal Chocolate Show with her chocolates made from native Australian ingredients, outclassing 130 other entries.
She runs her chocolate business Myrtle and Pepper from the kitchen of her Allan Street home and on August 11 and 12, she will cross the river with some of her creations.
This year Aroma will feature more than 80 stalls and a full program of coffee and chocolate inspired cooking demonstrations held on the Flavour Stage from local industry professionals and event stallholders.
Also available over the course of the festival will be the Hunter Arts Network which will run The Art Bazaar Pop Up in The Levee Shared Zone. The pop up will offer for sale a selection of original, handmade, locally produced artworks from stalls ranging from small gazebos down to suitcase sellers.
The Flavour Stage will host expert chocolatiers, roasters and baristas demonstrating the different aspects of chocolate and coffee and the production and preparations techniques used. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks to use at home.
A new addition this year will be The Brownie Bar, hosted by The Cunning Culinarian. Located in the Baby Chino’s Cafe, kids and adults are invited to come along and choose from a wide selection of delicious ingredients to mix and make their own personal brownie creations.
There will also be the Crema Stage which will feature performances from local musicians.
Rachael is excited to be a local exhibiting at Aroma, particularly after her success at the Royal Chocolate Show which allows smaller artisans like herself to compete with industry heavyweights.
She spent two weeks preparing for the competition and at one stage was ready to bow out when her son came down with the flu, her kitchen hand was sick and her youngest was six weeks old.
She studied chocolate making in Melbourne and the UK and and travelled throughout Australia to find suppliers.
Her brand offers flavours such as lemon aspen pie, quandong cheesecake and native river mint and wild strawberry. Some of the creations take four days to make and each chocolate is hand painted.
The festival will run from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday August 11 and 12. Entry is free. Stalls will be located in Maitland Riverside Car Park.
