A pantomime demo with Steve Walpole and his Fairy Godmother - Valentina!
16 December 2011
Steve Walpole gets all theatrical with popping candy and a pantomime demo on the Southbank...
With the run up to Christmas and all the focus on shopping, food and the festivities it was great to have a bit fun and let my hair down (what’s left of it.) at the chocolate festival on the Southbank.
My fairy godmother Valentina Harris (who runs the event) let me appear like magic to the stage and in true Walpole style, I made sure it was a full on affair. Thanks also to my good friend and quality supplier Laura King of Kings Fine Foods I managed to get some of the best chocolate in the world for my showcase.
Amedei chocolate for those that do or don’t know is by far one of the best chocolates in the market place. As both Valentina and the chocolate are Italian, I thought it would be the perfect match. So let’s set the scene... Its 6pm on a bitterly cold winter night and we have a busy festival on the Thames Embankment. How do you pull guests into a demo when there is such a fabulous array of chocolates, hot chocolate and even chili with chocolate on offer? Quite simple you let me loose with a microphone and we turn a demo into a show.
Chocolate is a fabulous commodity but we brought some fun, nostalgia and science to my dishes. One recipe was a raspberry and milk chocolate upside down cake with rich chocolate sauce, popping candy bon bon’s.
The pantomime came in the form of banter and heckling - every time Valentina came from the back to support me, the crowd shouted “SHE’S BEHIND YOU“ this then extended into the “OH NO ITS NOT“ and “OH YES IT IS“ with every recipe, which stopped folk dead in their tracks to see what all the fuss was about. By the way I’m open to offers for the Queens Theatre…
Thank God for twitter and face book as we made the demo a talking point by getting people to tweet, FB pictures and messages of what was happening and we got some fantastic results.
The finale was the high point - a hot liquid chocolate using dry ice to turn it into a bubbling milkshake. I’d practiced a few times but you never know what might happen at a live demo. A plate held cake, sauce, bon bons and hot chocolate and I simply had to to pour in the chocolate and add dry ice. The front row audience looked like a pack of meerkats waiting their fate! The team didn’t know what to expect and all I could think was if this goes wrong, then my fairy Godmother will be chasing me again with that large ladle… I poured the drink into the glass to complete silence, then dropped the dry ice in crossed my fingers and stood back. BINGO! We had a lot of smoke and the drink started to bubble, followed by a huge round of applause. A perfect pantomime, fun, drama and suspense!
Good news is I am allowed back again in March so have to start planning for another big bang demo...
Thank you to the team and in particular my favorite Italian chef the wonderful Valentina Harris - you truly are a legend xx
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