Chocolate is a tasty and healthy treat — every child knows that. But is chocolate also a material for drawing and sculpting? The Chocolate Museum in Vienna offers an insight into how culinary professionals and artists work with the product. And after a guided tour, children and adults can take part in masterclasses on how to make original desserts.
The SchokoMuseum is located in the Heindl confectionery. The tour begins not with a tasting, but with a film about the time when the Olmec, Maya and Aztec Indians discovered the health benefits of cocoa beans. The ancient "chocolatl" was probably bitter and not considered a delicacy. Today, however, pastry chefs create delicious chocolates and desserts.
Through the glass wall of the confectionery you can watch the modern process of making chocolates. You can also see old tools used to harvest and process cocoa beans, the first candy-stamping machines and other things related to the history of the production of this popular delicacy. Some will want to know some old recipes for making chocolate, while others will be interested in how the packaging of this popular dessert has changed.
"The saying goes that chocolate is never sweeter than when you say it'. The museum has taken this into account by installing tasting fountains in the exhibition hall to ensure that visitors don't drool in vain. These contain different types of chocolate from the Heindl factory. Visitors can also smell the vanilla, cinnamon, nuts and other additives that make each chocolate bar special, to understand how flavour influences the taste of the dessert.
What if the chocolate used to create the paintings and sculptures is also scented? Take a whiff of the pieces in the art gallery of the Vienna Chocolate Museum and see if they smell delicious.
If your child wants to get involved in the culinary arts, you can take part in a children's workshop at the museum. Children can try their hand at making chocolates with different fillings or drawing with chocolate on a wafer base. There are also workshops for adults. At the end of your visit, you'll probably want to head to the Heindl shop for a tasting and a gift. As well as chocolate, they also sell candied nuts, candied fruit and other sweets.
Note that the factory is closed on Saturdays. This is also the day when the museum receives the most visitors. A visit to the Chocolate Museum is not the only sweet excursion in Vienna. Children will love the strudel show and their favourite Viennese attraction may be any pastry shop that serves Sacher cake.
