Sweet Tooth Friendly at The Chocolate Show New York

By: Finance Foodie

Halloween in New York – home to the crazy and creative costumes, the over the top parties, and the infamous West Village parade – just got a little sweeter (literally) for me. That’s because this year I was finally able to attend the Annual New York Chocolate Show (I missed it every year when I lived in the City due to my crazy work hours). Held in the Metropolitan Pavilion, this three day affair showcased all things chocolate – as a raging chocoholic – I think I might have just died and gone to heaven!

I decided to visit the show on Halloween day (because that is how a foodie should do trick or treating). When I arrived on scene, I was greeted by two lovely mannequins dressed in fabulous haute couture chocolate garments – fun!

Then I noticed a haunted house made with chocolate – I knew this show was going to be great – and I hadn’t even sampled any of the goods yet!
My first stop was at the Pure Dark booth. Pure Dark is a cute little shop in the West Village where you can create your own gourmet chocolate trail mix. I sampled a mixture containing blueberries, cranberries, walnuts, and caramelized Pure Dark chocolate nibs – delicious and nutritious (well, sort of). They even gave me a $5 gift card to use the next time I visit the store – hooray!
Of course no food show is complete without an open bar. A friendly show go-er at the Bacardi booth told me rum helps to cleanse the palate after sampling the different chocolates. I highly doubted the validity of that statement (the friendly gentleman looked like he had been “cleansing his palate” all day) but the glasses were uber cute!
The representatives at the Guittard booth were feeling festive and were super friendly. Was it a sugar high they were on…?
When I lived in NY, I used to eat at the Peanut Butter and Co. sandwich shop in Greenwich Village ALL THE TIME! I was so excited to sample all their eight PB flavors at the show (even though I already sampled them all numerous times previously).
However, the highlight of the show was ironically not tasty, but it sure was savoury. The Hershey Spa (where all spa treatments are chocolate flavor themed) provided complementary 10 minute massages using their signature chocolate scented lotion from their spa. And I even got to bring a sample sized bottle home with me. What a great way to relax my tired feet and stomach!
Even though many attendees mentioned that this year’s show was on a smaller scale than some of the previous years due to the current economic environment (even though I always thought chocolates weren’t discretionary items), I walked out happy and carried the scent of the succulent chocolates for more than a few blocks!

A portion of the ticket sales from The Chocolate Show helps support the Share our Strength charity, a leading non-profit that works to eradicate hunger in NYC. For more info on Share our Strength or to donate to this wonderful cause, please visit their website at strength.org.