Chocolate remains the main event in and around Hershey, Pa., and groups find multiple ways to engage in sweet dark decadence. For instance, guests of The Spa at The Hotel Hershey can revel in whipped cocoa baths, chocolate bean polishes and chocolate fondue wraps.
Hershey is also the place to conquer guilt about that chocolate habit, as you learn dark chocolate is actually good for you. Resident experts deliver education about the properties and differences among milk, sweet, semisweet, bittersweet, white and cocoa chocolate products as taste buds drown in a mocha overload. And interactive group culinary exercises add even more options.
Customized group wine and beer pairings with the candy are another idea, according to Karl McCall, Hershey Lodge’s beverage manager. Groups of between 25 and 40 people may take their tastebuds on holiday as they explore a half dozen wines and chocolates, including some organic ones.
“We use a classroom setting,” McCall explains, “and we usually feature red wines with some unexpected chocolate flavors like artisanal Scharffen Berger Chocolates (owned by Hershey) out of San Francisco. They do wild flavors like chili peppers as well as milk chocolate chai bars with ginger. It opens up an entirely new world for tasting, something people might want to try but not invest in.”
This kind of edible retreat works well for meeting breakouts, he says, as well as spousal activities, because it can be done in an hour or less. There are also condensed pairing sessions and lectures about chocolate history, the types of chocolate and why they pair well with certain wines.
McCall uses beverages other than wine to heighten spirits. Beers, cognac, rum and Scotch launch taste-bud tours of chocolates like Hershey’s Cherry Cordial Kisses and other indigenous products. And there are the interactive martini classes, where participants learn how to mix multiple chocolate versions of the popular cocktail.
“Imagine having everything you need right in front of you—the alcohol, ice and Hershey candies for garnish. It makes for a great team-building exercise, especially if they get into a culinary challenge as well,” McCall advises.
Thanks to a $67 million expansion unfolding through 2009, The Hotel Hershey will be even better equipped for 21st century guests. Highlights include a new recreation campus that will feature a pool, an 18-hole putting course and a year-round skating rink. Additionally, new multi-bedroom cottages are rising in the woodlands behind the hotel, including a meeting cottage designed for productive retreats.
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