{Food Events} 2010 Chocolate Show in NYC

With the holidays approaching, I've got tons of sweet treats in mind for gifts and party favors.  So it was timely that the annual Chocolate Show in NYC is taking place from now until this Sunday, Nov. 14th.  I went yesterday to the Metropolitan Pavilion to check out the chocolate fashions, demonstrations, and, of course, samples from here and around the world.

I loved all of the chocolate fashions and made a beeline for the Jacques Torres table.  No chocolate show would be complete without an assortment by Mr. Chocolate himself! 

Dylan Lauren (Ralph Lauren's daughter and owner of Dylan's Candy Bar) was on-hand to promote her book and to demonstrate pretty easy holiday ideas (caramel apples, glue-gunning light-bulb shaped chocolates to holiday wreaths, and affixing candy bars together to make a centerpiece). I liked how attentive her bunny mascot was amongst the crowd.

I thought that the chocolate postcards (pictured) and discs (not pictured) from Rogue Confections were beautiful and would make a great impact on a dessert table.  Because they're not available in the U.S. yet, everyone attending the show should check out Mary's from Japan.  I liked their not-so-spicy chocolate-covered wasabi crisps (pictured) and their green-tea crisps (not pictured).  And to illustrate the health benefits of chocolate, Gnosis Chocolate offers a raw, organic, vegan, gluten-free chocolate.  Their Pomegranate Acai bars reminded me of elevated chocolate-covered raisins, but full of anti-oxidants. 

With surprisingly more heat than the wasabi was the tasty peanut butter flavor, The Heat is On from Peanut Butter & Co.  Creations by Francois Payard were happily available as well (though I wished they had the Buche de Noel we bought last year for Christmas!).  As usual, I enjoyed the Grand Marnier-filled chocolate (cocktails and chocolate can be a dangerous combination!).  His table also reminded me that I have to check out his new Bakery downtown.

Boissier, a French company, had a beautiful display and made me think of tea parties or bridal showers.  Their chocolate petals come in both fruit and floral flavors.  I purchased a couple of boxes as gifts - now I need to ensure that I don't eat them before I give them away!