Gala evening : Salon Du Chocolate 2014 - Olympia West

     

            This was another delightful evening that took place at London’s Olympia West of chocolate tasting and fashionable chocolate watching all smothered into one succulent and superb Gala evening for VIPs and journalists. This is the second year that Salon Du Chocolate , (or the Chocolate show in English) - is being hosted in the UK; however for Salon du Chocolate, they are celebrating their 20^th birthday. This evening’s gala gave a glimpse of the weekend including the chocolate fashion show; luckily, this time round, members of the public will be able to see the fashion show live everyday at 5pm.

In celebration of Chocolate week, which is held in the middle of October, Salon du Chocolate brings chocolate companies, chocolatiers, exhibitors and those who love chocolate together. It is an opportunity to learn about the newest range of chocolate, other delicious chocolate series and brands through demonstrations, tastings, truffle rolling and much more. As you can imagine there are many French speakers as the French and Belgians love their chocolate, ooh la la!

This evening, before the fashion show begun, Willy Wonka, from the musical Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, performed ‘Pure Imagination’ to set the chocolate tone for the evening. Lindt Master Chocolatier, Paul Wayne Gregory and Downtown Abbey costume-maker, Caroline McCall designed Deco Diamond. It took three months to create and weights 60kg. There is also ‘Fairy Choc Mother’ by Mark Tilling and Sue Hodges from Squires Kitchen. 

Alexandra Harper Millinery who is renowned for her unique dress techniques, following her collaboration with Disney, applies her luxurious head wear with Andy Blas, Executive Pastry Chef at the five-star Café Royal Hotel. Aneesh Popat also incorporates the Chocolatier range and Anita Thakker uses Fruitful Blooms Chocolatiers for her mouth-watering outfits that come with a hand-made chocolate bag.

Bruno Mirmont with Maison Boissier chocolate introduce a beautiful pink mesh-made dress and Quentin Gianora and Lucie Bennett introduce a cheeky autumn themed couture. And to add to the fashion show Carolyn Roper painted chocolate designs onto the dancers of the AOFM Pro who gave an outstanding performance. 
This year there are up to fifty exhibitors with names that reach far and wide the globe including UK’s own Hotel Chocolate, Lindt, Artisan du Chocolat, Paul a Young, Rococo, Marc Demarquette, Melt, Divine, Prestat, Lindt, Valrhona, Pralus, Bonnat and many more.

There is also a chocolate theatre, which allows chocolatiers to prepare  demonstration that showcase their range of chocolates, which include Michelin-starred Atul Kochhar, Great British Bake Off champions Edd Kimber and John Whaite, and chocolatiers Paul a Young and Will Torrent. Pastry chefs will also be exhibiting their patisserie skills including France’s 23-year old Guillaume Sanchez, 5-star chefs from The Berkeley Hotel and Café Royal Hotel as well as the former Fat Duck pastry chef Hideko Kawa.

There will be tasting theatres available and activities for children. York Cocoa House will host activities including chocolate painting, chocolate bar creating and chocolate lollipop making. 

There is also a downloadable app that provides schedules and chocolate show offers. Click here to access the app on your device. For more information, click here. More photos available here.

Dates: 18-20 October Times: Friday:  2pm to 6pm 
Saturday: 10am to 7pm 
 Sunday: open from 10am to 6pm Venue: Olympia National Hall, Hammersmith Road Kensington, London, W14 8UX Nearest Tube: Kensington (Olympia)

Sylvie Douce and François Jeantet (founders of Salon du Chocolat)

Willy Wonka from the musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Chocolatier - Aneesh Popat

Anita Thakker of Fruitful Blooms Chocolatiers

Anita Thakker of Fruitful Blooms Chocolatiers

AOFM Pro

Bruno Mirmont for Maison Boissier

Lindt Master Chocolatier and Paul Wayne Gregory & Caroline McCall

Quentin Gianora & Lucie Bennett

Mark Tilling for Squires Kitchen

Carolyn Roper for AOFM Pro

Café Royal & Alexandra Harper Millinery