Friday, October 31, 2008

Salon du Chocolat 2008

Jeanette asked to see Parisien architecture - et Voila!The crowds at Versailles have moved on to the Salon du Chocolat!
A real chocolate map to help orient you at the fair... We begin with Beautiful cacao beans bien sur.
Oui, this is where your chocolate comes from!
Brazil lets you can taste raw beans right out of the pod.
Mexico demonstrates the mole to make their version of hot chocolate (no milk included).
Switzerland stand brought a cow to aide their plea for milk chocolate. The cow does not look thrilled...
Multi-demos of the dipping of chocolate are everywhere...
May I try please?
The French child is introduced to wine at an early age...
 And fine tuning of chocolate tastebuds is cultivated. No M&Ms for these kids! I had a deprived childhood bien sur :(
Not ice cream, chocolate mousse flavors from Chapon.
 Look at these divine chocolate tablets from Jean-Charles Rochoux. 30 squares per bar - 1 square of perfection for each day of the month. If you have great restraint...
Many bouche at the Salon. Big mouthfuls of chocolateness = lunch.
 Talk about hunks of chocolate, as big as your head!

26 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:04 AM

    Oh that is why I think chocolate from France, Italy and Spain is better than British Chocolate!!! My husband normally brings me a huge bar back from his travels..I am very good, 1 bar can last me about a month!!

    I think it is so great to educate children like this..SUPER!! :-)

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  2. You can almost smell the chocolate coming out of those glorious photos. Come on Carol, tell us how many you ate.

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  3. My favorite post so far. I will have to go next year.
    Excellent images.

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  4. Wow, those French kids... connoisseurs before they are bigger than a minute! What fun this! Ooh, I saw that bit of orange upon a chocolate disk...I 'd have to go for that. and some origins, and some caramel filled.. and ;-) ( Good thing it is a walking city! )

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  5. May I assusme that you don't miss Halloween candy?

    Happy Halloween, nonetheless! :-)
    (We both got cows on our posts today,
    mine's got the blues, though, sort of. *g*)

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  6. Guess what my wordverfication was?

    " R E E S E S "

    *giggle*

    If you find any good chocolate-peanut concoction (which I love!), please let me know. I miss my Reeses Petnutbutter Cups. I used to steal them from my children's loot bag.

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  7. Peanutbutter.
    Ever heard of RWS?
    Reeses Withdrawal Symptom.

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  8. What kind of wordverification are you using?
    It's so spooky!!!!! Reading my mind!!!!

    " E A T I N "
    it said. Quite scary.

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  9. Oh wow.. this is an insulin overload of goodies. :)) I now find, because of you, that I can no longer stand a Hershey bar.. they taste to waxy to me now. I want the best or nothing now. :)

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  10. I'm laughing at Merisi's comments. Wonderful chocolates, Carol--and the glasses--someone must have known you lost yours and then got new ones as well. Sounds like you're making all the right stops and getting the right kinds of sustenance. Fabulous! Happy Halloween!

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  11. Anonymous2:00 PM

    Wonderful pictures of the Salon du Chocolat!!! Wish I was there this year to put myself voluntarily in a cocoa induced coma!

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  12. MERISI, The French do not care all that much for the peanut. They would certainly NEVER put it next to their chocolate in any form ever!
    I so wish I had brought my jar of peanut butter with me...
    C'est la vie.

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  13. Anonymous2:14 PM

    If only l could get over to Paris Carol as l am allergic to cadburys chocolate and all the others like it, but french and German is fine with me.
    I didn't eat chocolate till l was in my forties as l thought it was all the same but then I tried French and it was fine
    Jill xx

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  14. Anonymous2:15 PM

    This series of posts has made me totally want to revisit Paris.

    I can only dream... and live vicariously through your posts!

    Thanks.

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  15. oh-my-god. Salon du chocolat. Can I live there? Can I stay there for a while? Can I eat everything in it? Please?

    ♥ visit me at www.afiori.com

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  16. Anonymous9:16 PM

    OK, on January 31st when my 30 squares of chocolate for the month are gone, I can eat February 29Th. And save February 30th for - oh - March. THEN I've got problems! No chocolate on the 31st of May, July, August, Ocotober and December. I guess I could have pumpkin pie in October, but it doesn't seem the same.....

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  17. May I just say I can't get enough of chocolate and I can't get enough of your BLOG! C'est Magnifique!!!

    Anna :)

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  18. I love reading this post. I'm impressed with all the ways chocolate are presented... tell us more *wink.

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  19. Amazing Carol. How fun for you!
    I never tasted cacao out of the pod. Now I am curious.

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  20. Yummy-fabulous post!

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  21. Anonymous5:46 PM

    Dear Carol,
    Im a fan of your blog and today I posted my 100 post, and I choose some beautiful images that I found in Blogland since I beggin my blog. Since your blog is one of my favorites, I used 2 of your paintings. Please come to see!
    Have a nice week!

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  22. Who needs m&m's when you could have a tower like that?

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  23. Anonymous6:54 PM

    You HAD to be there !
    Nice show, could not go this year, but definitely one of my favorite exhibitions in Paris.

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  24. AllI can say about this post is:
    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

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  25. Lady, You did a wonderful job on this blog. I spent Waaaay too much time on it but it was so interesting I had to pass it on to my friends.

    Thank you!

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  26. I can smell it right now. AAAAAHHHHH....

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