Natasha Said­wan

natasha.said­wan@guardian.co.tt

The Montser­rat Co­coa Farm­ers’ Co-Op­er­a­tive So­ci­ety Ltd (MCF) host­ed its fourth an­nu­al Co­coa Food Fes­ti­val at La Ve­ga Es­tate, Gran Cou­va, on Sat­ur­day, high­light­ing the di­verse and in­no­v­a­tive us­es of the co­coa bean be­yond tra­di­tion­al choco­late prod­ucts.

The event, which con­tin­ues to grow in pop­u­lar­i­ty, at­tract­ed ven­dors and pa­trons from across T&T. It fea­tured a wide range of co­coa-based prod­ucts, in­clud­ing roast­ed nibs, co­coa pow­der, co­coa but­ter, and grat­ed choco­late, which were in­cor­po­rat­ed in­to both ed­i­ble and non-ed­i­ble goods.

The MCF show­cased its full line of sev­en choco­late bars, pop­u­lar co­coa by-prod­ucts, and its sig­na­ture hot co­coa tea.

Food ven­dors of­fered an in­ven­tive co­coa-in­fused menu that in­clud­ed fried cream cheese won­tons with choco­late driz­zle, wings and BBQ chick­en made with co­coa-based sauces, and co­coa ver­sions of lo­cal favourites such as dou­bles and pholourie.

A crowd favourite, co­coa chow, al­so made its re­turn. Sig­na­ture drinks and co­coa-themed bev­er­ages, sold in co­coa pod-shaped cups, were es­pe­cial­ly pop­u­lar.

In ad­di­tion to food and prod­uct dis­plays, ar­ti­san ven­dors sold hand­made soaps, creams, cakes, and nat­ur­al skin­care items, all in­cor­po­rat­ing co­coa as a key in­gre­di­ent.

Live en­ter­tain­ment in­clud­ed per­for­mances from pan soloist Ada­iah Ram­jat­tan, the Joy­lan­ders Steel Or­ches­tra and the Los Reyes Parang Group. Chil­dren en­joyed a ded­i­cat­ed ac­tiv­i­ty area fea­tur­ing boun­cy cas­tles, face paint­ing, and tra­di­tion­al games such as pelt­ing pan, ring toss, bran tub, and spin the wheel.

Or­gan­is­ers de­scribed the event as a con­tin­ued suc­cess, of­fer­ing a space where fam­i­lies and com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers could come to­geth­er to ap­pre­ci­ate the cul­tur­al and eco­nom­ic im­por­tance of co­coa in T&T.

“This is a one-of-a-kind event that brings to­geth­er cre­ativ­i­ty, tra­di­tion, and in­no­va­tion through co­coa,” an MCF rep­re­sen­ta­tive said.

“We’re proud of how it con­tin­ues to grow and at­tract more peo­ple each year.”

The fes­ti­val is ex­pect­ed to re­turn next year.