Salon du Chocolat

Many years ago we were here in Paris and just missed the dates for the Salon du Chocolat.  Luckily though 8 years ago we were here and I was able to go.  This time Maxine decided to come too.

It's a consumer oriented show.  The focus is chocolate.  All the big chocolate producers are there.  The high end guys who charge a few dollars for a piece.  The MOF's (today was the opening of the show so there were lots of interviews going on and one of the local TV stations was broadcasting live from the event!).

MOF's.  The French government has a program to acknowledge leaders in certain fields.  One of those fields is chocolate.  Each year they acknowledge one chocolate maker as "the" best in the country.  Once you're a MOF, you're one for life.  You get to wear a chef's smock with the colors of the French flag on the collar.  So, with today being the opening day of the Salon, there were a ton of MOF winners there, serving their chocolates and giving interviews.  And various chocolate judgings going on.  And classes.

I forgot to mention -- they were giving away the chocolate.  Pretty much anything was available (aside from the stuff that was there purely for photographic/visual purposes).  You just walk up to people and they give you chocolate.  Really.  And often you can pick what you want because they've got a number of chocolates there!

It bears repeating -- you can eat as much chocolate as you want for the entire day.  The entrance fee was $18...

Now the pictures:

Not just all French chocolate.  This is sort of a trade show too, so other chocolate producing countries were represented too.

Five different chocolate fountains at this booth.

Chocolates sculpted to look like produce.

And flowers.

These are the true "art" pieces of chocolate.  They're each behind plexiglass cases.

This is part of the judging of chocolate cakes.  The woman in the foreground has a tray of samples of what's being judged for the audience.  I managed to taste 2 different competition candidates.

"Live TV from the Salon du Chocolat"

Chocolate cooking demo that Maxine went to.

Interview with one of the rock star chocolatiers.

Some MOFs

Those are stacks of chocolate.  They keep breaking them into pieces and handing them to me (and everyone else).  Will this never end!?!??!

Dresses with a chocolate theme.  Some seemed to be made of chocolate

20th Anniversary celebrations too!

Larger than life size chocolate French royalty.

And French chocolate monsters!