Chocolate Lovers Dream Vacation
Factory Tours and Sweet Samples Highlight Decadent Excursions
The Signal - Business Section, July, 2006
Throw calorie counting out the window and prepare to indulge in the sweetest decadence imaginable. Take a chocolate tour.
This is the ultimate vacation for the chocolate lover in all of us. Leave the wine and dine tours for the foodies, and start with the best part. These tours go straight to chocolate dessert.
Aside from actually eating chocolate, not much would please a sweet tooth more than to visit the source that creates the “fourth major food group.” A chocolate factory tour is truly memorable and worth every single calorie you invest in the adventure.
Starting at home, there are plenty of specialty chocolate tours here in the U.S. that are sure to raise your sugar count. In Northern California, See’s Candy in South San Francisco, Scharffen Berger in Berkeley and Woodhouse Chocolates in Napa Valley’s St. Helena are open for viewing and sampling. Then there’s the obvious one of the Hershey factory in it’s namesake Hershey, Pennsylvania. Colorado boasts the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Durango, and the Ethel M Chocolate Factory calls Henderson, Nevada home. Not to mention that chocolate makers also exist in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont. Who knew that you could plan a vacation eating your way through fudgey, chocolate treats from sea to shining sea?
If you’re headed abroad, Australia – think Cadbury – and Europe – hello, Paris, Belgian and Switzerland – are super sweet on chocolate. Walking tours are fun, especially when you begin the day with a sample chocolate snack to get your energy boosted.
Even cruise ships are jumping on the dessert tray to offer over-the-top chocolate nights, featuring every imaginable cocoa treat from fountains to cookies, edible sculptures to cakes, and beyond. Again, chocolate is the highlight of the dining experience.
The whole concept of chocolate tours is simply a specialized twist to the already popular wine and food excursions that travelers desire, particularly in destinations known for their culinary sophistication, like Italy and France. People want greater refinement in the food arena, seeking new experiences and indulgences. Along with enjoying chocolate-focused factory tours and on-site experts, cheese and olives are attracting attention from travelers with unique special interests.
Going beyond the traditional wine sommelier who expertly assists in wine selection and pairing, Crystal Cruises is soon to feature a cheese sommelier on board it’s luxury ships. The sommelier will venture to port towns to purchase local cheeses to bring back to the ship for sharing, tasting and discussing with interested cheese enthusiasts. The objective is to educate guests on cheese and all its variation and depth.
At the end of the day, however, it is all about chocolate. The universal temptation of this sweet cocoa treat has driven the parallel universe of specialty culinary excursions of all sorts. Whether it’s the golden ticket to Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory you’re hoping for or the chance to get up close and personal with a Hershey’s kiss, a chocolate tour is a decadent, delightful way to enhance your next vacation. Got milk (chocolate)?
For more information
contact Nicole Stinson, Public Relations
(310) 312-3368
