Love is (almost…..) in the air.
The BSA Committee is excited to once again invite you to sip sake in conversation with your fellow Association Members. With Valentine’s Day coming up, our theme for this meeting will be chocolate and sake pairing!
Did you know that chocolate is made from fermented cacao beans? As a rule of thumb, fermented food x fermented food works really well, and chocolate and sake are a surprisingly perfect pairing! Both share complex flavours of sweet, sour, bitter, and umami, and the pairing between chocolate and is full of potential and new discoveries!
We usually think of koshu or jukusei-shu when we do chocolate pairings, as those sakes may already have aromas of chocolate and caramel on the nose. But we will encourage everyone to explore new pairings, such as pairing with kimoto/yamahai sake, nigorizake, and sparkling sake with chocolate. This is now your time to do so!
As a special addition to this study group, we are excited to welcome Albert Chau, a chocolate expert and judge at various chocolate competitions, as well as an active BSA member, to explore chocolate and sake pairings with the group. Albert will be sharing his experiences in chocolate judging. It would be an invaluable opportunity to learn about the world of chocolate tasting and the chocolate profession.
Join us at our usual meeting place — Vagabond Monument — where charcuterie and fromagerie, small plates, and the ever-popular steak sharers will provide a counterpoint to the wonderful range of sakes kindly brought by attendees.
Date: Monday, 10 February 2024
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Address: Vagabond Monument, 51 Gracechurch Street, EC3V 0EH
(nearest stations: Monument, Cannon Street)
Tickets: £28 for BSA Members ONLY
Our Masterclasses and Study groups are open to current members only.
Brief Profile of Albert Chau
Albert co-founded Fifth Dimension Chocolates in 2013. It’s an award-winning British chocolate company, specialising in luxury handmade chocolates using single-origin cocoa exclusively, combined with exciting flavours and ingredients.
Albert has been a Grand Jury member at Academy of Chocolate awards, as well as a regular judge at Great Taste awards. He became a Certified Chocolate Taster (Level 3, International Institute of Chocolate & Cacao Tasting) in 2017, and have reached WSET Level 3 in Sake as well as Certified Sake Sommelier (Sake Sommelier Association).
Tickets are strictly limited, to ensure proper attention is paid to each sake kindly shared by Members.
Attending Members will each bring one bottle of sake of choice to the event. After you have purchased your ticket, we will contact you to request you send us the names of two potential sake options you can bring on the night, so that a suitable selection (ensuring no duplicate sakes etc) can be made by the BSA Committee beforehand.
If you aren’t sure what to bring, just let us know and we will be happy to provide some suggestions! Food and glassware will be provided.
*** If you have to cancel your booking after purchasing a ticket, we are able to offer a full credit towards a future BSA event up until 72 hours before the event start. After this time, a credit will only be possible if we can re-sell your space to another member. Thank you for your understanding.
British Sake Association 英国日本酒協会 