‘It’s a warm hug in a cup’: Chocolate festival in Moncton heats up winter

The Funky Monkey hot chocolate at Brix Experience in Moncton, N.B., is pictured. (CTV Atlantic/Derek Haggett)

It only makes sense that the only bean to bar chocolatier in Moncton would want to be part of one of the sweetest events underway in New Brunswick.

LaRouère Chocolat co-owner Robin Streb said Chocolat Moncton is a tremendous help to the downtown artisanal chocolate shop.

“You cannot underestimate how amazing it is for businesses at this time of the year,” said Streb.

The second annual hot chocolate festival started on Saturday and runs until March 2.

Streb and her team have created a hot chocolate tasting menu with different chocolates from around the world.

“It’s a huge help through the winter season,” said Streb. “Sometimes people are a little hesitant given the weather that we’ve been having to get out and about, try something new, but this gives them the perfect reason to do so. And it’s a cozy experience as well.”

Over at Brix Experience, café manager Alex Aube has created the Funky Monkey.

“It’s like a nice banana bread, chocolate banana bread, in a cup,” said Aube.

The St. George Street café has been selling around 40 each day.

“It’s been so good to have those people come in,” said Aube. “It’s good for this time of the year for sure. January, February typically is slower in the restaurant and coffee shop industry, so yeah, it’s been good for us.”

The Filomena Café located right across the street from Brix hasn’t even been open for a month.

Owner Luis Palmero wasn’t even sure he wanted to take part because he thought it might interfere with the grand opening and the HST tax break, but he decided to go ahead and came up with the decadent Hot Nutella Chocolate treat.

“On Saturday when it started, we saw one of our busiest days [with people] coming to try our hot chocolate. So, it’s been very helpful for our business and I’m sure for other businesses too,” said Palmero.

The event was created by Amber Richards who saw similar festivals taking place elsewhere in the country and thought it would help cafés, bistros and restaurants in the Moncton area.

“Everybody can afford hot chocolate. It’s a warm hug in a cup. It’s a great time of year to take out the whole family. Take out your clients, your colleagues, your staff. Date night, go on a date night,” said Richards.

There are 15 participating restaurants, cafés and chocolatiers in Moncton, Riverview, Dieppe and Shediac.

“The chocolatiers, pastry chefs, they’re getting very creative and some of these hot chocolates are out of this world. I’ve already had seven and they’re delicious,” said Richards.

A full list of participating establishments and their unique hot chocolate treats can be found here.

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