Melt Away Your Cares at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay's Chocolate Weekend Experience

As hotels and resorts begin to open again, events are coming back as well. Some are reboots and others are brand new. In past years The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay has been host to gourmet classes and festivals. Something new and chocolate themed is their collaboration with award-winning chocolatier and pastry chef Adam Thomas of Thomas Craft Confections, Chef Thomas’ brand for luxury gourmet confections for a Chocolate Exploration Weekend April 1-3, 2022. In partnership with the resort’s Executive Chef Jakob Esko, the weekend features a series of events including a chocolate afternoon tea, a chocolate-themed brunch and 7-course dinner. The weekend is sponsored by both Valrhona and Thomas Craft Confections.

Executive Chef Adam Thomas has over 20 year’s experience creating confections and working in chocolate including 9 years at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs as Executive Baking & Pastry Chef, and also as a guest chef at the esteemed L’Ecole Valrhona in Brooklyn, New York where he taught a master class on hotel pastry and amenity programs.

Guests can choose as many or as few events as they like. The resort still has rooms available but is also close enough to the Bay Area for a day trip.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea at The Conservatory – April 1-3 at 3 p.m.

The Conservatory, the Mediterranean restaurant also serving California cuisine, will host its signature Ritz-Carlton Afternoon Tea Experience with a playful emphasis on cacao paired with champagne. Designed to mimic a modern beach house, The Conservatory overlooks the beautiful Pacific coast, offering the ideal setting for guests to enjoy tea, small bites and luxury Valrhona chocolate. The Chocolate Afternoon Tea is $120 per guest. Reservations are sold out for Friday and Saturday but are still available for Sunday.

Navio Chocolate Brunch – April 2-3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In celebration of spring, Navio, the property’s refined seafood and coastal cuisine restaurant, will transform its legendary and lavish weekend brunch into an elevated chocolate brunch experience. Navio Chocolate Brunch will feature a special tasting menu of twenty-five individually plated dishes that guests can order in any quantity during a two-hour experience, in addition to seasonally inspired à la carte items such as fresh seafood, local cheese, elevated brunch favorites, and a selection of prime cuts. The experience is $249 per person and reservations can be made here.

Navio “Travel with Chocolate” Seven-Course Chocolate Dinner – April 2 from 5 p.m. to
9 p.m.

Chocolate enthusiasts and the confection-curious are invited to enjoy a special seven-course chocolate themed tasting menu in collaboration with Navio Chef de Cuisine Francisco Simón and Executive Pastry Chef Adam Thomas of Thomas Craft Confections. The guided “Travel with Chocolate” tasting menu experience will take guests through a series of savory dishes masterfully prepared with Valrhona chocolate representing a different equatorial country and its cacao. The dinner will include Petit Fours and parting gifts from Thomas Craft Confections. The experience is $249 per person and reservations can be made here.

The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay is located at 1 Miramontes Point Rd, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. For reservations or more information, please call 800-241-3333 or visit ritzcarlton.com/HMB.