Announcing: Jade Mountain’s 4th Annual Chocolate Festival
St.Lucia, December 14 – 18, 2012

 

Four days of indulgence include chocolate-themed five-course dinners, plantation tours, gourmet picnics by the beach, chocolate massage (very therapeutic!), an interactive cooking class and a sensory tasting of the estate’s own hand-made organic chocolates.  Even a “Chocolate Breakfast in Bed” experience in your own private and quite extraordinary hillside sanctuary.
 

Soufriere, St. Lucia, November, 2012…Nick Troubetzkoy, the architect and visionary behind the unique Jade Mountain resort on St. Lucia, invites you to experience the exotic tales and flavors of the world’s favorite aphrodisiac – chocolate.

Why St,Lucia?  Cacao and St Lucia have been an item since the 1700’s.

Why Jade Mountain?  Because we grow our own cacao trees, more than 1,000 of them, at our picturesque Anse Mamin Plantation and Emerald Estate.  Now you can join us for four days of fun and be one of the first to taste our premier vintage of Jade Mountain’s Estate-Grown chocolate.  A sort of locavore’s chocolate dream!

This festival of flavors begins with a reception and dinner on Friday, December 14 and runs deliciously through Tuesday December 18.   Jade’s acclaimed consulting chef Allen Susser and our executive chef Jonathan Dearden will be your guides, sharing with you their talents and passions by introducing you to every surprising aspect of chocolate, from the cacoa pod to truffles and sumptuous fondues.  You will have opportunities to visit both Nick’s cacoa plantation and Organic Gardens at his Emerald Estates, where the cacoa trees bear their exotic fruit (pack your cameras for the curious cacao pods – shaped like saffron or red oval melons).  You’ll learn insights into the alchemy of cacao at a workshop given by Chef Allen and discover just how versatile chocolate can be.

In the evenings, you can sample, among other surprising delights,  a “Chocolat-tini” with chocolate-inspired savory finger foods, followed by beguiling five-course dinners showcasing chocolate in every course and topped off with truly mouthwatering desserts, including a Double Dark Chocolate Fondue (the sort of treat that must be shared to savor its aphrodisiac magic to the fullest).  No wonder the Latin name for St.Lucia’s cacoa bean is Theobrama cacao – the food (brama) of the gods (theo).

Throughout the four days, lunches and dinners range from gourmet Antillean picnics on the porch of the farmhouse on Nick’s Emerald Estate; lunch beneath the palms of Anse Mamin beach, inventive chocolate-infused dinners in the Jade Club overlooking the island’s signature twin peak, the Pitons; and the ultimate treat — a “Chocolate Breakfast” in bed, surrounded by the solitude and scenery of your luxurious sanctuary (anytime after sunrise — just tell us when, we’ll do the rest).

One of the most memorable and revitalizing interludes of your stay is likely to be Jade’s signature Chocolate Spa Treatment (the local Soufriere cocoa bean has long been touted for is capacity to break down harmful free-radicals).

The intoxicating pleasures of chocolate are almost outmatched by the serenity of award-winning Jade Mountain resort, which soars majestically above our exclusive 600-acre beachfront estate.  Jade is an architectural marvel that embraces and celebrates St. Lucia’s stunning scenic beauty – the view from your suite is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The sanctuaries are grand sweeping spaces with extravagantly sized private infinity pools which appear to float out to nature and to the amazing views of the Pitons and Caribbean Sea – views that make a perfect backdrop for hours of reverie while savoring chocolate in all its wondrous variety.

For more details on the Chocolate festival go to http://www.jademountain.com/events.html

For press information, contact: Martha Morano, Morano Public Relations
212-860-5566, martha@moranopr.com, www.moranopr.com