Bookings // Chocolate tastings
Learn to taste chocolate like the pros!
Jackie Gordon leads formal chocolate tastings, along a variety of themes, with a PowerPoint presentation, to seated participants.
Attendees learn:
- How chocolate is made from bean to bar
- How to taste chocolate like the experts
- How to use rating scale and tasting score sheets
- How to identify quality chocolate
Each event participant is provided with an individual tasting plate of a raw cacao bean, couverture chocolates from some of the world’s finest chocolate makers (e.g., El Rey, Valrhona, Guittard) and bon-bons from local chocolatiers including those from Jackie Gordon’s Divalicious Chocolate! Cafe. Each participant gets a score sheet, flavor wheel and rating scale to write down his or her thoughts and reactions to each chocolate. Palate cleansers are provided.
Running Time: A formal chocolate tasting runs one to one-and-a-half hours. The timing of the event can be modified as needed.
Make it a chocolate tasting buffet!
Through Divalicious Chocolate!, Jackie offers informal buffet-style chocolate tastings with or without a chocolate expert.
Participants taste a selection of chocolate bon-bons and couverture chocolates around a specific theme.
A buffet tasting is set up with platters of chocolates accompanied by signs that reference each chocolate. The buffet is often moderated by a chocolate expert who guides participants through the tasting and answers their questions.
Each participant can nibble directly from the platters or we can provide tasting plates with a tasting map.
Chocolate tasting buffets are easily modified to suit your event needs.
Chocolate tasting themes
How to Choose a Great Chocolate
A Tasting from Milk to Bittersweet Dark Chocolate
In this tasting, attendees try couverture chocolates that range from a mild milk chocolate (i.e. 33% cacao) to extra bitter dark chocolate (i.e. 86% cacao) so there will be chocolates that are bound to appeal to the taste preferences of each of the attendees and they can get a clear experience of the chocolates they like best. They will then taste hand-made, a hand-molded and a machine-made chocolate bon-bon.
The Amazing Tastes
A Blind Tasting of Chocolates from Around The World
In this tasting, attendees’ blind taste couverture chocolates from six different countries. They attempt to figure out which chocolate comes from what country. Then they taste bon-bons from three distinctly different chocolate makers.
Taste the Terroir
A Tasting Of Single Origin Chocolates
In this tasting, attendee taste six couverture chocolates where the cacao all comes from a single country to get the experience of how terroir – a wine term that relates to how the location, soil, weather and more affect the taste of the cacao beans- affects the final taste of the chocolate. Then they taste three single origin bon-bons.
Tastes from the Dark Side
A Tasting Of Seventy Percent And Higher Chocolates
In this tasting, the attendees taste six couverture chocolates that have a seventy percent or higher cacao content. The higher percentage chocolates are considered to be on the more serious side of chocolate tasting and are also considered to be better for you health. Then they will taste three chocolate bon-bons that are on the dark side.
Got Milk?
A Tasting Of All Milk Chocolates
On the lighter side of the chocolate tastings attendees try a range of six milk chocolates followed by three milk chocolate bon-bons.
Wanna Little Wine With That?
Tasting Wines And Chocolates
An awesome way to taste chocolate is with wines. Chocolate has more flavor notes than wine and in this tasting we taste four wines and six couverture chocolates then we pair them looking for the perfect match. Our wine partner is Wine Therapy in Nolita, a boutique wine store focusing on small producers who make outstanding organic and specialty wines.
To inquire about booking her for your conference, corporate, group or private event, please fill out the booking inquiry/request form. You may also direct inquiries to
