Rotorua celebrates food and family with Melt Festival of Chocolate

There has been no shortage of chocolate in Rotorua this Easter weekend with the inaugural Melt Festival of Chocolate.

The festival ran from Friday to yesterday.

It included The Hits Cocoa Carnival, chocolate demonstrations, the Rotorua Museum Easter Egg Hunt and a Race Day.

Many of the events were held at Kuirau Park.

Rotorua's Natasha Whitewood put on a cooking demonstration during the Melt Festival of Chocolate at the Rotorua racecourse. Photo/ Ben Fraser

Event director Alia Ryan said the individual events as part of the festival had been a huge success.

"We had some teething issues, but everyone loved the demos and tastings."

She said about 2500 people came through for the Rotorua Museum Easter Egg Hunt.

"It was so cool to see so many people enjoying the park."

Ryan said the Melt Hot Spots - Terrace Kitchen and Bar, Clarke's Bar and Princes Gate Hotel - had been pumping.

She said organisers were looking to continue the festival next year, with a few tweaks and things which could be learned only through doing the first one.

"Now we will look back and see what we can do to make it bigger and better next year."

Yesterdayfamilies were able to head along to the Rotorua Racecourse and enjoy the races, with free activities to keep the children entertained as part of the festival.

These included a bouncy castle, Easter egg hunt and darts.

There was also a demonstration by Rotorua's Natasha Whitewood, who was a

My Kitchen Rules New Zealand - Season Three

contestant with friend Hera Te Kurapa.

Whitewood created a chocolate chicken mole with horopito which the audience was able to taste.

The chef said she enjoyed being creative using chocolate in a recipe that could be used in everyday life for families.

She said she had loved working with a different cuisine yet also staying true to who she was as a cook, which was Maori fusion.

She said it was great to have a festival which not only celebrated chocolate, but included everyday cooks and bakers.

Rotorua's Natasha Whitewood, (right), put on a cooking demo, pictured with Alia Ryan, (left), Darren Brown, Rhonda Stokes, Adrienne Whitewood, Bianca Wilson, and Michelle Brown. Photo/Ben Fraser

"I'm yet to see in Rotorua an event that calls for people to put baking entries forward and be judged, and encourages that and inspires that, so that was probably the first thing I really liked and noticed about the event."

Rotorua's Kylie Navarro and Auckland's Sharlene Malam said they originally went along for the races and the Melt Festival's family games, not knowing about the cooking demonstration.

They said it was brilliant and they loved it.

"It was delicious and Natasha was engaging and really fun to listen to."