The Chocolate Expo
- The Hungry Pandaa
- Feb 1, 2016
- 4 min read
"The Chocolate Expo has become the largest chocolate event in the entire northeastern United States..." - (thechocolateexpo.com)
Image: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup by The Villiage Chocolate Shop http://www.villagepeddlervt.com/ Yesterday my friend invited me to The Chocolate Expo at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. A gathering of chocolate lovers, chocolatiers, filled with all different kinds of specialty foods. It was one of the most incredible, and tasty adventures I had been on in a while. Strangers giving me free chocolate and candy and not a single person tried to put me in a van- dreams do come true. Sidenote: Seriously, why don't men ever take me on incredible dates like that? I could not even begin to list the offerings. Dark and milk chocolate fountains. Truffles, gelato, candy apples, peanut butter, salsa, oils and vinegars, jams, pretzels (I'll never forget the woman in a tiara who handed me some of the most delicious pretzels I've ever had in my life. Toasted Almond (yes, like the ice cream bar), Cappuccino (the BEST), Dark Chocolate Coconut, Peanut Butter) The Pretzel Princess changed everything I thought I knew about pretzels- http://www.pretzelprincess.com/ I bought the Scary Hot Salsa (http://healthygourmet.kitchen/)- I mean it was a combo on ghost pepper and habanero. The hottest thing I'd ever put in my mouth, and I'd do it again in an instant.
It took me three different times during the day to finish that giant peanut butter cup, but it was one of the best things I've ever gotten fatter from. Definitely worth the calories. The Village Chocolate Shoppe (http://www.villagepeddlervt.com/) was giving out samples left and right and it was hard to pick between this and Death by Chocolate. So many incredible morsels.
There was raw chocolate. Kosher chocolate. Pig-centric chocolate (Literally there was a vendor called Bacon Bites www.Baconbites.com) Seaweed Chocolate- yes I said seaweed. I was given a piece of Nori Dark Chocolate. I dug it.
There were natural syrups, raw Nut Punch bars by Terra Nut (all natural, incredible, perfect for your 92 calories of pure body delicious nutty fuel and vegan friends) eating and crepe stations where you PICKED YOUR OWN INGREDIENTS, belgium chocoaltes and I could even by survival knifes (naturally to defend my chocolate from greedy thieves).
I would have loved to try the Lobster Mac N Cheese but I can't have lobster.
There was gelato- with bourbon and tequila. Not your mama's gelato. Truffle filling tasting stations.
Organic, farm to table stands were everywhere.
Pies. Chocolate pies. Apple pies. Pecan pies. Strudels, Raspberry Pies. Pie heaven.
I couldn't even begin to list all the incredible vendors I saw. Check out http://thechocolateexpo.com/ for details. Below, to the left, Tony Albanese (@ThePastryarch) (Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars) gave a demo in how to frost this lotus cupcake. He demonstrated more styles and techniques of decorating, and I got to come down and try- Not bad for my first sunflower, right? Give me a break I ran out of yellow frosting in my piping bag. Literally the best buttercream frosting of my life. According to him- the secret is butter. Man does he hate shortening.
I had a front row seat as MasterChef contestant Scottish Francis (@scottishfrancis) demonstrated his mastery of molecular gastronomy, and how time saving his Vitamix was. He taught us about pots de crème, and chocolate caviar. He graced the audience with a fantastic impression of Julia Child, and different uses of agar agar. Now I have to go visit his new place Gossip Coffee in Astoria, just to see if his doughnuts are as awesome as they looked on MasterChef. Don't share the yeast in a competition buddy. Need to go buy a Vitamix now.
Chef Barret Beyer (@BarretHK11, @chefbarret- IG) (Hell's Kitchen) taunted Scottish Francis mid performance, and mocked him before his time slot too. No worries, no bullying occurred in the making of this expo it was all in good bromantic fun. Unfortunately, I had to leave before I got the chance to see Chef Barret's demo- but I will make up for it when I go to the next expo in NY Mar. 6th.
I'm coming for you Beyer, watch out for the sassy loud-mouth in the front row.
Overall, this was one of the best food experiences I'd ever had in my life. Why? I'm a chocoholic. Not to mention- hello MARITIME AQUARIUM. Not only was I in foodie heaven, but I was surrounded by the ocean's most amazing sea creatures. Have you ever eating bourbon gelato while staring at a shark? Because I most certainly have. I felt like a kid in a giant candy store- oh wait. I was.
The next one is at the Aviation Museum, which is just as exciting for me.
It was a little crowded, but what do you expect with such an incredible event? The coordinators set everything up nicely. In two years, it'll be running so smoothly you won't even notice the crowd. Plus, they offer to post times when it is the craziest.
If you ever have a chance to go to The Chocolate Expo- go. GO! I don't care. Yes, I'm on a fitness journey too. I lost 7 lbs before this dream date and I'm sure I gained it all back. It was worth every single calorie.
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