Chocolate Unwrapped
Wine tasting venue Vinopolis is set to hold Chocolate Unwrapped, a show being held on 15 and 16 October to celebrate Chocolate Week, taking place throughout the month. The event showcases stands from various British chocolatiers, with an expected 4000 visitors. The visitors will have the chance to try out a variety of chocolate-themed products including tastings and chocolate experiences, an exhibition of chocolate art and sculptures, and demonstrations from top chocolatiers and chefs. Among the exhibitors is Valrhona, the French chocolate maker whose chocolate is used in 80 per cent of Michelin-starred restaurants. For more information on Chocolate Unwrapped at Vinopolis, visit www.chocolateunwrapped.co.uk.
All-Stars Dinner
The Pass restaurant at South Lodge hotel in West Sussex is hosting an All-Stars Dinner event next week with a mix of Michelin-starred and aspiring young chefs joining head chef Matt Gillan in the kitchen. Organised by Gillan, the dinner will include two guest chefs each night for 13, 14 and 15 October. They will each cook and present three courses, with a featured ingredient that must be used in preparation of one of their dishes. The featured ingredients will include Jerusalem artichoke, scallops, pigeon, pear and chocolate. Guest chefs include Simon Hulstone, Daniel Clifford and John Campbell. Tickets for each night are priced at £95 per person. For more information visit www.southlodgehotel.co.uk
Chef auction
The Belfry hotel is holding The Moth Ball, a bridal fundraiser in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support to be held at the end of October. The event will include an auctioning of some of the Belfry’s top chefs. The highest bidder for chef Patrick Harness will receive Sunday lunch cooked for four in their home while pastry chef Dean Cole will be auctioned to hold a chocolate masterclass for two in the resorts pastry kitchen. Tickets, which include a three-course meal along with the auction and a raffle, are available at £39 each, with £5 going to Macmillan Cancer Support. Samantha Baker, who is helping to stage the fund-raiser at The Belfry, said: “We have got some fantastic prizes and are hoping they will raise as much money as possible for Macmillan Cancer Support.” The event will take place on 29 October. For more information visit www.TheBelfry.co.uk/mothball.
Anniversary dinner
Le Pont de la Tour is joining forces with L’Institut Paul Bocuse to hold a celebratory dinner in aid of the restaurant’s 20th anniversary. Senior chefs from the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon will fly to London to prepare a specially-designed menu for a one-night-only ticketed event. They will be cooking alongside new executive chef Tom Cook, who joins the restaurant in September from Tom Aikens Restaurant. Sir Terence Conran, who founded Le Pont de la Tour in 1991, said: “Paul Bocuse was obviously a huge inspiration to me in those early days when we were discussing menus and he remains so today, a reminder that working life does not have to end at 80!”. The anniversary dinner takes place on 11 October.