I am thrilled to share this press release about the brand new Big Chocolate Show taking place this weekend! I had been thinking that it was high time to revive Big Chocolate extravaganza, and this new event is even more exciting than ever. Here’s the full press release. Get ready to loosen your belt a couple of notches! ~Karen Seiger, Markets of New York City
New York’s Largest Chocolate Expo Is
Set to Debut This Weekend
CHELSEA, NEW YORK – Passion or Profession? No matter – attendees will discover just how sweet it is at The Big Chocolate Show, the first annual chocolate expo set to welcome over 5,000 fans, pros, chefs, food editors and industry buyers next month at The Terminal Stores here on the city’s bustling waterfront on October 7th-9th.
“We wanted to do more than simply offer an opportunity for the general public to load up on chocolate in a basic trade show format. That’s been done here before and quite frankly, it was easy to improve upon that model. This new, highly curated and American-produced show takes a chocolate expo to a whole new level,” says TBCS’s founder Matthew Saravay, who also heads up event planning and production company Wizard Studios in Bushwick, Brooklyn. By assembling a team of experts with over 50 years of combined experience in and around the chocolate industry, Saravay is confident that his new chocolate show will draw in the crowds with tasting classes, live demonstrations, talks and workshops for adults AND children.
With a press- and industry-online preview on Friday, October 7th, the show is set to welcome the public on Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th. Six ticketed tasting classes are available and will rotate through the expo– ticketholders can choose up to three classes per general public session.
Jacques Torres, Valrhona, Pacari and FIKA are among the 50+ top tier and boutique brands represented at the Expo; click here for updates on exhibitors as organizers finalize the offerings.
On the main stage, cooking demos and dynamic talks include a session from Institute of Culinary Education’s creative director (and the mind behind its Chocolate Lab) Michael Laiskonis discussing “Five Things I Didn’t Know About Chocolate Until I Started Making It” – sure to be standing room only.
And with the audience-generated “FAVE” awards, all attendees will have an opportunity to electronically vote for their favorites during the show in an assortment of categories, with winners to be announced on Sunday October 9th at 6 p.m. just prior to the conclusion of the expo. “We think this makes us really stand out – everyone who attends the show is a judge,” added Saravay.
“Like wine, like cheese, like coffee, chocolate is enjoying a very pronounced moment in the spotlight, not as a food trend but a rarified treat, with some real mystery around it,” adds Saravay. “Until recent years, not much thought was given to how chocolate is made, nor where it comes from. The interest in reviving a chocolate show and expo in New York is a direct result from the public’s hunger, if you will, for more information on chocolate, along with – of course – an appetite to taste as many products and flavors as possible. We’re anticipating that the show will appeal to sophisticated consumers as well as industry experts and we are planning to wow both audiences in a big, big way.”
WHAT: The Big Chocolate Show
WHERE: October 7th, 8th and 9th at Terminal Stores, 269 11th Avenues between 27th -28th Sts.
WHEN: Friday 12 to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
IF YOU GO: www.thebigchocolateshow.com for tickets, schedules, class descriptions, exhibitor information and more