Salon Du Chocolate 2013

Every girl loves good chocolate.... right?  Excellent! I'm so glad you agree with me, because I certainly love it!

I was privileged to be on the guest list for the first ever evening VIP / Press event of Salon Du Chocolate 2013 at Olympia in London on Friday 18th October.  This event is the culmination of Chocolate Week and was, to say the least, decadent in chocolate goodness!!!  It's held over 3 days from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th October 2013.  It's open to the public each day and tickets can be purchased on the door.

Some of the largest and most prestigious names in chocolate were there with some of the most INCREDIBLE flavoured chocolates that I've ever tasted.  From fruit purees to goats cheese, green tea, chilli, salt through to carrots and Foie Grois.  A veritable feast of the taste palate!

Chantal Coady and her team from Rococo Chocolates were there with their beautifully designed and packaged selection of chocolates.  I have to say a HUGE congratulations to their Principal Chocolatier, Barry Johnson, for winning the UK Pastry Open 2013.  A local boy to me who studied in my home town, not to mention an all round nice guy!

From ChocoMe, we were treated to this gorgeous looking slab of fruitiness.

These were made by Lauden using the most incredible fruit purees - the flavour was intense and mouthwateringly good!

This nougat from La Maison du Nougat in Moltifao, France was my favourite of all the nougats I tasted as it was made, not with sugar, but with honey.  Not only did it look incredibly good, but the texture, flavour and 'mouth feel' as you let it warm up on your tongue to gently melt was sublime!

Beautifully, but plainly packaged bars of single source chocolate from Chocolate Pralus

Iain Burnett, The Highland Chocolatier kindly provided a sample of 4 of his chocolates in a beautifully decadent red magnetic box for the 'goodie bag'. 

I did buy some amazing salted caramel sauce from Bellanger, which (hopefully) the rest of my family won't like so I can enjoy it myself!

I even bumped into a couple of lovely people who were watching the chocolate catwalk.  John Whaite and Cathryn Dresser from Series 3 of the Great British Bake Off.  They were both under strict instructions not to make me look short between them - they failed miserably! 

Thank you to Nudge PR for allowing me to attend the event.  Can't wait until next year!