Chocolate Festival opens in Davao

DAVAO CITY--It's a chocolatey weekend in the city after local cacao growers, processors and artisans opened the 5th Chocolate Festival at SM City Annex on Friday.

The festival, which runs from October 19 to 21, serves as a venue for cacao growers and chocolate processors to showcase and promote their products.

This year's festival features 16 exhibitors: the Yolks Flower Cafe & Cupcakery, Bukidnon Milk Company, Gabriela's Homemade Pastries & Confection, Sugar Panda, Milky Cakes & Sweets, Sweet Moments by Kris, Racoma Chocolate Far, Malagos Chocolate, Sweets of Tirzah, Sweet & Savoury, MS3 Agri-Ventures Corporation, ChocoLoco, Coco Dolce, Cacao Davao and two others under the Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao, Inc. (CIDAMI).

One of the exhibitors, Krispy Tawaran of Sweet Moments by Kris, is a former environment specialist assigned in Marawi.

Tawaran said she pursued her baking hobby after polishing her skills in pastry-making with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Davao City. She then ventured into producing pastries, mostly chocolate base with the raw materials accessed from local cacao producers.

Tawaran delivers her products to schools and hospital canteens and accepts orders through social media. She also regularly joins exhibits and trade fairs.

SM mall manager Maria Lynette Lopez said the festival "is our way of showcasing the region's best chocolates with innovative exhibitors offering not only insta-worthy treat but also those which take one a joyful chocolate experience."

"This is our way of supporting local producers (and) processors, as well as entrepreneurs and see the industry develop as they continuously push its potential," Lopez added. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)