NYC Chocolate Show

Last Updated on May 20, 2015 by Chef Mireille

NYC is the city to live in, if you are a foodie.  Today, I had a NYC Food Lover’s perfect Sunday Afternoon. It started with a visit to the annual Chocolate Show, full of chocolate tastings, demonstrations and fashion.  Then it was off to NYC Cake and Bake Shop for some supplies for a cookie decorating class I am teaching in a few weeks.  Then off to a decent brunch with a friend.  Beautiful autumn weather and good food – I LOVE NY!

The 13th annual NYC Chocolate Show was held this weekend November 11th – November 14th.  I managed to make it there today.  Although I missed the official fashion show earlier in the week, there were several fashion chocolate pieces there for admiration.

In addition to the art, there were chocolate purveyors from all over the world, as well as tea artisans and spice manufacturers.

Spice and Tease had a large variety of tea blends and ground spice mixes. I even got some pili-pili peppers, hard to come by, even in New York.

There were also some wonderful food demonstrations.  One of the best was a wonderful milk chocolate flan that had many levels of flavor in the composed dessert, including lemon jello, salt and sesame seeds.  After chocolate overkill, this was a welcoming complex dessert, where the chocolate was almost an afterthought.  It was mellow and balanced with all the other flavors.  Every bite tasted different, as Chef Steve KLC said it would.  One of the best composed desserts I have ever tasted.

Of the chocolatiers I sampled before the chocolate nausea began, my favorite was Pralus.  Pralus had chocolate blends as well as pure blend cocoa beans from many countries from Ghana and Tanzania to Brazil and Columbia.  The staff at this table was very friendly and accommodating.  They would open sample bars upon request to taste the specific one I wanted.  Tanzania was mellow and very smooth, perfect for baking.  Indonesia was a wonderful chocolate for making hot chocolate, subtle tones of cinnamon and nutmeg were apparent.  Djakarta was a sweet blend of Indonesian and Columbia beans, creating the perfect eating chocolate.

My favorite chocolate confectionery company was William Dean Chocolates.  Caramel with Rosemary, Butternut Squash with Coconut Curry and my favorite Banana Cream Pie infused with a healthy dose of rum was almost orgasmic.

It was a deliciously sweet day and I recommend checking out the show next year, if you didn’t make it!

For the complete photo roll of the show, see here.

Chef Mireille
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