Salon Du Chocolat

In an earlier entry I mentioned my particular interest in the chocolates of France. During walks through the city I’ve sampled products from a variety of producers. I always tried to find shops that produced their own chocolates on their premises as opposed to stores that sold stuff made in a factory somewhere.

Aside from my on-the-go research, I knew when we planned this trip that we would be in the city during something called the “Salon du Chocolat”. Every fall they have what amounts to a public-access chocolate show in Paris (imagine a large exhibit hall with roughly 200 chocolate-related vendors). Maxine & I were in town 8 years ago but I didn’t go, and regretted it. This time I made the ½ hour train ride out to the convention center for the show (FYI admission was $15.60). Here’s the URL: http://www.chocoland.com/uk/index2.php

Some of the chocolate products I saw and tasted at the show included:
- Chocolate beer – 2 different producers
- Chocolate and Bailey’s liquor
- Chocolate and Grand Marnier liquor
- Chocolate bread
- Dark chocolate, light chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate covered nuts, chocolate covered bananas and other fruit, chocolate covered etc…

And things I missed seeing or trying:
- Seeing Ms. Cocoa Butter
- Chocolate teas
- Chocolate cosmetics
- Getting a chocolate massage ($50 for 40 minutes)
- Participating in the kiddie program (I think they were educating the next generation of French chocolate lovers!)


I also sat through a 50 minute lecture on ganache (filling for chocolates). I’m not planning on making any, but since the speaker was working from a PowerPoint presentation I thought it would be an interesting way to test my French comprehension. I figure I understood 60-75% of what he said which felt pretty good.

If you enjoy chocolate as I do and happen to be in Paris in late October, this is certainly a useful alternative to a museum visit!

The photos:
Outside the exhibit hall.
Looking in at the kiddie program
Chocolates molded and painted to look like fish (I don’t like fish, but might make an exception for these).A chocolate sculpture – it reminded me a bit of Venus de Milo, a photo of which I’d included in a prior blog entry!