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A sold-out crowd of 700 people hungry for dessert sprawled both inside and out of the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort last weekend for the eighth annual Big Island Chocolate Festival gala to benefit seven island non-profits.
Creations by chefs, chocolatiers and culinary students were critiqued on taste, texture, appearance and creativity by the team of celebrity judges at competitions during the annual two-day festival.
The top three winning teams in this year's college culinary competition were University of Hawaii Maui College Culinary Arts Program's Danielle Sulliban and Marion Sidon. Second place went to UH-MC's Bristol Anae and Tiffany Figeroa and third place went to UH-Palamanui students Lily Frazier and Thomas Elarco.
Heading the list of culinary winners were event newcomers Mike Winder of Kailua-Kona's Loko Wraps for Best Savory, who offered a vegan dish; and Anna Hohenberger of Puna Chocolate Company for Best Plated Dessert. Pastry Chef Kalani Garcia of Four Seasons Resort Hualalai took Best Bonbon while Michelle Yamaguchi of Oahu's Waialua Estate Chocolate won Best Bean-to-Bar Chocolate.
Those who best dazzled the crowd with their creations earned the People's Choice Awards: Chef Dayne Tanabe of Hilton Waikoloa Village for Best Savory and Pastry Chef Daniel Sampson of the Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii for Best Sweet.
In the cacao bean divisions, Ken Melrose of Primavera Farm bested 13 other entries for the Best Cacao Bean while Kealia Ranch earned Best Criollo Bean.
"It's great that the field of competition is growing in the bean division, which basically critiques the quality of beans after fermentation and drying," noted Farsheed Bonakdar, president of the Kona Cacao Association. "Proper fermentation optimizes the flavor profile of chocolate."
The event theme, "Black and White," was depicted at culinary stations, and Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory of Kona was tapped Best Decorated Booth.
Judges for the various competitions hailed from throughout the state and Mainland: Mauians included Chef Ricky DeBoer of Fairmont, Kea Lani; Chef Yoshikazu Kizu of The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua; Chefs Teresa Shurilla and Hannah Stanchfield of UH-Maui College.
Visit www.bigislandchocolatefestival.com for updates.