This event – all about the journey of cacao grown in small farms in Panama through to chocolate finished in the UK by Bill McCarrick of Sir Hans Sloane chocolate – was one of the highlights of the week for us, and we were rather proud to have helped put the whole project together.

After some delays caused by stressful technical problems (why do computers always fail to deliver just when you need them?) Kate Malone was able to show us her photo journal of her recent trip to Panama, which gave us lots of insights into the detail of growing and harvesting cacao. No matter how much you think you know, there’s always something new to learn about chocolate.

During Kate’s talk we cut open and passed around a pod brought back from Panama, so it was great while Bill McCarrick was talking about his Sir Hans Sloane project to be sampling chocolate made from beans from the same source.

Things became even more exciting when Bill and his assistant Andreas let us samples dark and milk pralines made using the Panama chocolate, making this a unique experience in the world of chocolate sampling.

I can’t think of another event where the audience has had the chance to sample every stage of the chocolate making process where there’s been such a direct connection with the cacao farms. (Grenada Chocolate might have done something similar, and I dare say Valrhona or Michel Cluizel could stage an event like this, but it would probably be more impersonal.)

The chocolate Bill has conched from the Panama liquor has really come on since the first batch we tried and worked very well in the pralines, rounding off the event and creating a buzz around the room, and a great end to the week. (Except I didn’t manage to take any pralines home!)

Thanks go to staff at the Panama embassy for dressing the room with photos and info about Panama, to Bill and Kate for the presentation and to everyone who helped out during the week.

We’ve been at many different events with Sara – promoting fine chocolate or the work of the Academy – but this was a chance to let Sara talk about something she truly loves – Amedei chocolate.

After an expertly recounted recap of the history of chocolate, Sara led us through a tasting of Amedei’s Toscano Black, I Cru Jamaica, ‘9′, Chuao and Porcelana.

Tasting Chuao with Sara was especially interesting following her recent visit to the plantation – we were treated to plenty of stories and an insight into the background and politics of the region.

We learnt that Chuao is riding high at the moment, but may soon become a victim of its own success as the Chavez government seems to be preparing the village to become a tourist destination. Only time will tell what effect this might have on the chocolate.

The evening was rounded off perfectly with two Amedei truffles made by William Curley – Chuao and ‘9′.

Many thanks go to Sara for all her hard work and energy promoting  the fine chocolate cause.

Using only Amedei chocolate, William made up three new recipes intended for the "Dessert Bar" that will feature in his new Mayfair shop, currently being refurbished and converted from the old Chocolate Society shop in Shepherd Market.

We started off with an infused chilled chocolate drink while William prepared a baked Chuao tart.

While this baked we were treated to a chocolate pastry with apple and salt caramel ice cream, which despite our best attempts to resist, most of us finished.

By then the tarts were baked, so next came the chocolate Chuao tart, served with fresh raspberries and sauce and vanilla ice cream, making a great contrast with the still warm tart.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of chocolate related banter going on, with William making us feel at home in his kitchen and contributions from the likes of  Henrietta Green, also in attendance.

Just when it seemed the evening couldn’t get any better, along came a heavenly chocolate souffle, this time served with orange slices and quite amazing green tea ice cream.

All in all an excellent evening and a great insight into the creative process of a top patissier. By the time the new shop opens, these will be even more refined and the presentation polished.

If you can’t get yourself on one of William’s events this week, then make sure you visit the new Mayfair shop when it opens in early November. Just don’t try to eat three desserts in one sitting, it’s not easy!

Monday night turned out to be a great start, with our Olive oil, balsamic and ganache tasting, with guest speaker Michael North of The Olive Trail. It’s interesting for us at Seventypercent to have a chance to learn about something other than chocolate for a change, and it was amazing how many similarities there were with the fine chocolate world. Like chocolate, the olive oil market is dominated by myths and misconceptions and a lot of marketing hype. Many of the products dressed up to look like something special are in fact just old, stale, blended oils with little provenance of worth. Good oil should be consumed within 12 weeks of harvest, and this is what The Olive Trail is all about. If you’re a general foodie as well as chocolate lover, it will be well worth checking out Michael’s site and signing up to their club. I won’t even begin to tell you the truth behind eating olives, it was just too gross!

As well as the tutored tasting, we also combined four different fine chocolates with some very fine balsamic, which was very interesting – in some cases like eating a raspberry chocolate mouse in a single piece of chocolate plus a dab of balsamic!

Another revelation was the new batch of Michel Cluizel Mangaro we started the tasting with. A surprising strong toasted hazelnut note suddenly appeared, something we’d never encountered before in Mangaro. It’s always part of the pleasure to discover new flavours event when you think you know it all, and again this is just another example of how single estate chocolate can, and should, vary from batch to batch. Something to celebrate and keep us on our toes.

Water based magic 

On to Tuesday night, and once again a pleasure to welcome Damian Allsop for a tasting and demo. Damian again perfomred his magic with water and chocolate, bringing out some new James Bond style gadgets and whisking up a fantastic mousse out seemingly nothing. We also had a comparison between a cream based and water based mousse, which really showed just how much flavour can be dulled by the presence of dairy. Damian had also arrived with a wealth of fantastic origin chocolate ganaches, as well as some flavoured ones, so we were all pretty chocolated out by the end of the evening, but I think well satisfied!

Right now I’m off to sample the delights of William Curley’s new chocolate desserts and will try to report back later.

Photos Kate Malone.