Chocolate
The Salon du Chocolat celebrates its 20th anniversary
Twenty years ago two French entrepreneurs, Sylvie Douce and François Jeantet, had the idea to start a chocolate fair. For many people around them it was a rather foolish idea! The couple believed in it and worked very hard. While in 1994 the fair opened in Paris with only 30 exhibitors, 40.000 visitors came.
Picture of Sylvie Douce & Fançois Jeantet ©clolg
The success was immediate and never ceased over the years. Since 6.4 millions people visited the 159 fairs around 4 continents. After Paris the fair went to other cities in France and to New York, Tokyo, Cairo, Salvador de Bahia and more rencently to Zurich and London. In Japan in 7 cities 800.000 visitors come every year.
In 20 years 500 fancy chocolate dresses have been created by some maîtres chocolatiers and reknown designers such as Charel, Daniel Swarovski, Courrèges, Kenneth Cole, Ungaro and worn by 400 VIPs. For this special anniversary, 150 dresses have been redone and will be at the salon, shown or worn during the two daily fashion shows at 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. In addition a special anniversary collection has been made for this year’s catwalk.
Beautiful model at the salon du chocolat fashion show – crédit Véronique Gray
The Salon du Chocolat takes place Porte de Versailles with more than 250 exhibitors in a 20.000 sqm space. It is a great activity for the entire family. You can learn, eat, watch recipes being made live, listen to music and take part in plenty of fun activities.
Many top chefs, cooking stars, young talents, pastry makers, maîtres chocolatiers, artisans will be there, but also chocolate historians, nutritionists, professors and many celebrities.
Chocolate is magical and was according to the Azetc a food of the Gods. At the fair at the daily workshops (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) called Chocosphère much can be learned about the history of chocolat, how beans are transformed to make chocolate bars, about the producing country of cacoa beans, how healthy chocolate is or about chocolate and wine pairing.
DÉMONSTRATION AURÉLIEN HOUILLON & JÉROME CHAUCESSE – SALON DU CHOCOLAT 2012 – copyright Raffoux
The fair has much to offer to the children with workshops made just for them. There is a free babysitting center on the ground floor from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Chocoland. Children have to be between 4 to 10 years old.
Salon du Chocolat, Porte de Versailles à Paris, du 19 au 24 octobre 2011 – copyright Salon du chocolat
The Choco Demos are very popular and it is recommended to come early to find a seat. They are on the first floor in the Espace Pastry Show from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday October 30th will feature “the stars of Gastronomy”, Friday October 31st for “the Great show of Chocolate” and Saturday November 1st recipes from around the world.
Favarger milk chocolates – copyright Veronique Gray
There will be an exhibition called ArtChoc’lat where various artists will present their chocolaty art. Among others the French sculptor Richard Olinkski famous for his Kong, the culinary designer Alexandre Dubosc, the inventor Romain Duclos, the sculptor Fofi Assegid and the food designer Marc Brétillot will be there.
Croissant Rusks Cafe Ohzan in Japan visiting the salon du chocolat – crédit photo Véronique Gray
At the Salon du Chocolat it is possible to find out about the new trends of chocolate being made with different shapes, with more fruits, spices, fresh herbs, or even with matcha tea!
If you are a chocolate lover, this is the event of the year to go to. The organizers of the fair are promising 20 times more surprises this year!
More information:
** WHERE IS IT?
PARIS, Porte de Versailles – Pavilions 5/1 and 5/2-5/3
**HOW TO GET THERE:
-
Subway: Line 12 stop at Porte de Versailles, Line 8 stop at Balard
-
Bus: Line 80 – stop Porte de Versailles then Liness 39,42,169 stop at Balard.
-
Tram: T2/T3 stop at Porte de Versailles
-
Car: Via the inner ring road – get out at Porte de la Plaine or Porte de Versailles and Via the outer ring road, get out at Porte de Sèvres or Porte de Versailles.
**PRICES:
Adults: €14 – Children from 3 to 12: €6.50 – under 3 is free
**WHEN IS IT? October 29th to November 2nd **OPENING HOURS: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
For more visit the salon du chocolat website.
