Chocolate Ball Goes Retro But Stays (Mostly) Pure

The 50's-themed Chocolate Ball held at the Palais Royale on Friday was the final event of a week of activities in conjunction with the 4th annual Toronto ChocolateFest.

From savoury to sweet, liquids to frozen treats, the ball was a deliciously indulgent evening. Foodies and adventurous eaters satisfied their taste buds while raising money for a charitable cause. All food stations were sponsored and all funds raised from tickets ($150) to the silent auction were donated to the Ava Rose Fund, a chairty supporting neurosurgery research at Sick Kids Hospital.

With over 20 different stations to visit, we paced ourselves and started off at the savoury stations. Il Fornello served a chocolate pizza, made with a crust of cocoa, drizzled with white chocolate and salsa verde. Aggie Martin featured tender filet mignon with chilli-chocolate sauce on a bed of mashed butternut squash. The best savoury dish was done by Palais Royale. They served a goat cheese tart with chocolate vinaigrette. The goat cheese was soft and creamy and went well with the oddly conceived vinaigrette. I went back for seconds.

The flashiest display was made by the students at Niagara Culinary Institute. They really went with the retro theme and created a Beatles chocolate mould, sundaes, milkshakes, hamburger macarons (salted caramel), and donuts (all, of course, made with chocolate). It was genius, delicious and one of the main attractions of the night.

Other sweet goods we tried included those made by a company called Live on Chocolate, makers of organic raw vegan desserts. I gave the raw vegan chocolate truffle a try. It was the purest chocolate I've ever tasted, with no milk, additional flavourings or sugar added, and thus no aftertaste. This is a must try for chocolate lovers.

The pastry chefs at Dolcini created a very unique cake made from orange Bavarian cream, caramelized walnuts, candied pear, pink peppercorns, and almonds. The cake was moist, lightly sweet and unique to Dolcini.

The Chocolate Ball was a groovy affair, and it was quite entertaining to take in the heels and gloves, pillbox hats, the Twist, "T-bird" leather jackets, Co-Co Girl dancers, live rock 'n roll band, and old-school movies on the various TVs. Ball-goers and event organizers pulled out all stops for a great evening.

Photos by Michelle See.