Subscribe to RSSThe Pasadena Center was the venue for the sweetest gathering presented by TasteTV.com and included chocolate masters, authors and chocolate lovers from throughout the Los Angeles area. Among the authors who gave a recipe presentation was Ed Engoron, award-winning restaurateur, chef, food consultant, and chocolatier. who studied in Paris at the famed Cordon Bleu, and cofounded Choclatique, an award-winning, artisan chocolate company, in 2003. Ed prepared a divine strawberry shortcake recipe, one of the 170 recipes in his book Chocolatique.
The panel of judges, including Bonnie Carroll, publisher/editor of Bonnie Carroll’s Life Bites News www.lifebitesnews.com, perused the showroom tasting chocolate samples and asking chocolatiers questions regarding their ingredients, latest offerings and the techniques use. “Talking with the chocolatier’s competing in this year’s event and sampling their amazing chocolate flavors was such a sweet encounter.”
Competitors for 2011 LA Luxury Chocolate Salon awards included Choclatique, Amano Artisan Chocolate, Mignon Chocolate, Nicole Lee Fine Chocolates, Jer’s Chocolates, Chocoveda, David Bacco Chocolatier, Seattle Chocolate Company, Sterling Truffle Bar, Ciel Chocolatier, Amella, Monterey Chocolate Company, The Toffee Box, Butterfly Brittle, The TeaRoom Chocolate Company, CocoTutti, Christopher Michael Chocolates, Bootleg Chocolates, Marti Chocolatt, L’Amourette Chocolatiers, Droga Confections, Kallari Chocolate, Pacari Ecuadorian Organic Chocolate.
Additional exhibitors and sponsors included Farm Fresh To You, Gourmet Blends, Precept Wine, Hearthstone Vineyard and Winery, Buena Vista Winery, Quady Winery, Alquimia Tequila, QURE Water, Trade Office of Ecuador in Los Angeles (ProEcuador), Epicurean School of Culinary Arts, The New York Times, California Green Designs, Yelp, Meetup.com, TasteTV.com, and Chocolate Television who were all there playing a unique part in the 5th Annual LA Luxury Chocolate Salon event.
Bonnie Carroll with Chef Ed Engoron
Additional judges on the panel included representatives from Bon Appetit Magazine, Splash.com, and Barbara Hansen, former food writer for the Los Angeles Times. All final selections were made online before the September 27 deadline at TasteTV.com, and the winners will be presented their awards at the 2012 Tasty Awards ceremony at the Egyptian Theatre, in January. For details visit: www.tastetv.com
by Bonnie Carroll
