Salon du Chocolat

On Saturday, I went to Salon du Chocolat, an extravagant celebratory exhibition of all things chocolate, the biggest event dedicated to chocolate and cocoa in the world. Where else would I be on a November Saturday?! 

The ground floor was dedicated to sweet treats/confectionery, and I saw more macarons in that one room than I’d ever seen before. There was also an amateur cooking competition on a central platform, where I think the chefs I saw were making banana cheesecake. There were hundreds of vendors, selling everything scrummy from huge wheels of nougat to chocolate tea; the chocolate orange tea smelled divine. 

Going upstairs, I was met by 2 giant chocolate fountains. It was on this floor, the chocolate floor that I started to get my 13 euro tickets-worth back in freebies: chocolate (luxury pieces, bars, and ganache), chocolate liqueur, Bailey’s chocolate, chocolate spread…

The most impressive things I saw at the expo were all different forms of chocol-art (if this isn’t already a patented term, it should be). There was a strip of stalls from Salon du Chocolat Seoul, where one chocol-artist was displayed hand-painted plant pots made of chocolate. Another was displaying an ethereal butterfly chocolate dress. A separate part of the exhibition was a display of chocolate fashion, rows of chocolate-made dresses, blending two crafts Paris does best – chocolate and fashion. 

The entire exhibition area, in fact, was scattered with chocolate-visuals, a reminder that chocolate is not only a treat for the tummy but the eyes too. There was a 4m high chocolate monument, an illuminated fair-ground carousel carrying macaron pyramids and treasure chests of chocolate, chocolate wine glasses, not to mention the casual giant chocolate aeroplane centre-piece. 

All around were live demonstrations by the chocolatiers of their respective stalls, which meant a lot of melted chocolate bubbling away all around me. Special mention goes to the chocolate spread stand, which had pipes of flowing chocolate spread which I basically drank from…I asked if it was like Nutella, and the chocolatier looked fairly offended, told me there was more than 3 hazelnuts in his product, and that it stayed in its runny, gloopy consistency for 6 MONTHS. It took all my self-restraint not to buy a pot… But I did walk back past several more times in the afternoon to make the most of the taster-spoonfuls. 

In attempt to make the day somewhat educational and not 100% indulgent, I went to CHOCOLATE LECTURES (this counts doubly because they were obviously in French). The first was about a Vietmanese brand of chocolate, and the second about a charity protecting cocoa plantation workers in Cote D’Ivoire, the biggest exporter of cocoa beans in the world (see – educated).