(BIVN) – The 8th annual Big Island Chocolate Festival gala was held on Saturday at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort. A sold-out crowd of 700 chocolate enthusiasts attended the event, which was held as a benefit for seven island non-profits.



According to an event media release:

Creations by chefs, chocolatiers and culinary students were critiqued on taste, texture, appearance and creativity by a team of celebrity judges at competitions during the annual two-day festival. 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 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, the organization that produces the festival. “Proper fermentation optimizes the flavor profile of chocolate.” In addition, four Hawaii Island high school culinary teams vied for People’s Choice Awards Saturday night. Kealakehe High culinarians took top honors for both savory and sweet offerings, a dual repeat winner from last year. The event theme, “Black and White,” was depicted at culinary stations and Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory of Kona was tapped Best Decorated Booth. For Friday’s college competition, seven, two-person teams from Kona’s UH-Palamanui and UH-Maui College vied in a timed dessert competition that incorporated chocolate. Winners included Team 5 Marion Sidon and Daniele Sulliban of Maui, Team 6 Bristol Anae and Tiffany Figeroa of Maui and Team 1 Thomas Elarco and Lily Frazier of Palamanui.