Fête du Chocolat

A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned to me that September 9th would be the date of this year's Fête du Chocolat at the Fortress of Louisbourg. Initially, I was excited to make plans to be there. Then I realized that was the same date as an archery tournament that I'd already said I would attend. Feeling sick about the decision I had to make -- chocolate or archery -- I ultimately concluded (with apologies to my archery crew) that chocolate at the Fortress had to happen and I registered for the 1pm chocolate treat session. 

We arrived at the Fortress just after noon, paid our entry and event fees, and were bused onto the site. When we approached the gate and were asked by the guard what business we had here, I proclaimed, "I'm here to buy all of your chocolate!" He laughed and then suggested I must be wealthy, because chocolate in the 18th century was only enjoyed by those with status and money. After a quick review of the rules (like, stay off the walls), we continued into the reconstructed site. 

After orienting ourselves, we went into a building where visiting Acadian chocolatiers were demonstrating the bean-to-bar process and selling their wares. I purchased a salted maple truffle to try immediately (and it was delicious!), along with a few bars, all from Chocolat Voyageur, a bean-to-bar company in New Brunswick. 

From here, we strolled around the town, walking through the streets. Eventually, when 1pm came, we made our way to the kitchen of the engineer's residence. 

We were joined in the treat-making workshop by a reporter from Saltwire. Though we asked that we not be photographed, my hands and truffles did indeed show up in a photo essay that was published online (I have no idea if anything made it to the print edition). 

We had a quick orientation by the interpreters, before proceeding around the corner to wash our hands. What a surprise to suddenly be in a modern, commercial-style kitchen! We donned aprons, passed back over the threshold, and returned to the 1700s. (It retrospect, it felt a little like Outlander...)

As we selected our ingredients for finishing truffles, the interpreters told us more about chocolate during the time period and the house that we were in. It turns out the engineer must have been very wealthy and esteemed -- he apparently had 29 lbs of chocolate under his bed! In that time it would have been very expensive. And that's three times as much chocolate as I, a chocolatier, have on hand right now!

I couldn't resist photographing the cone of sugar and ball of chocolate that they let us handle. I've often read about cones of sugar and the work that went into preparing recipes when you had to begin by chiseling sugar from the cone, but I've never seen one in real life. 

The treat making workshop focussed on making truffles with a hint of Fortress Rum. Now, this is a little anachronistic, since cream truffles as we know them (at least according to the common origin story) only came to be in the late 19th century and some of the ingredients on the table (coloured sugar and nonpareils), while they may have existed in the 18th century, are unlikely to have been in the modern form provided. That said, it's a fair enough substitution. After all, some of the information provided in the tavern's PowerPoint presentation indicated that chocolate at the time might be combined with spices and egg yolk and molded -- and egg yolk truffles are indeed still a thing (not that I've ever made one -- the keeping limit is significantly reduced, from what I remember). Cream-based ganache is simple to execute and also avoids a common allergen when working with the public.

We were presented with a ramekin of ganache and a spoon for scooping (which we both accidentally bent during the scooping and discreetly bent them back into shape). I'm not sure if the chocolate used in this instance was the heritage chocolate produced by Mars, but that is what was listed on the recipe card. The splash of Fortress Rum gave it a nice flavour without being overpowering. 

We scooped and rolled, and chatted about chocolate. I made two rolled in ground almond, two rolled in sugar, and three rolled in nonpareils. Interestingly, they also provided raisins and roasted coffee beans to put inside the truffles -- something I've never done before. I opted for the coffee beans and I have to say that I was very impressed by the end result. The addition of a little crunch in the centre of the smooth, creamy ganache was a nice texture variation, and something I could imagine doing in the future (imagine a pistachio inside a cranberry truffle, for example). 

When we were done, we stepped through the portal back into 2023 and washed our hands before packaging our treats and heading back out into the 18th century town.  

Out on the dirt road, I spotted an interpreter. "Which way to the tavern?" I asked. She chuckled and gave us directions. A few minutes later, we strolled into an 18th century tavern that was playing 1980s music. Interesting juxtaposition. The joint was jumping. We ended up sharing a table with another couple and ordering a flight to try the Île Royale Saison, a special Fortress beer made by Breton Brewing. The kind bartender substituted one of the other beers in the flight for an Island Folk Cider. We sipped our beverages while watching the PowerPoint on chocolate and snacking on our truffles (which, by this point, were very soft and sticky). 

From the tavern, we strolled around a little more, finding a café, pausing in the chapel, jumping from fright at the unexpected firing of a musket. 

It was a great day. 

My only regret is that I didn't bring a lunch bag with a small ice pack to carry our truffles. Yes, I of all people should have known better -- but it just didn't cross my mind as I left for the day. Our truffles slumped and melted into each other. But after a few hours in the fridge, they were just fine for eating after supper. 

I would love to be part of the Fête du Chocolat someday. Maybe not as a vendor, since I don't do bean-to-bar production, but I would LOVE to dress up as an animator and run the truffle workshop. I wonder how a person could volunteer for that gig? 

Stayed tuned... Next week I'll tell you all about that bar made by Chocolat Voyageur!