The Festival of Chocolate

Bogus. The cost per ticket was $ 14.00 per adult, parking was $ 5.00, and that’s $ 33.00 for two. There’s little to nothing for free here and each taste of anything, regardless of whether or not you like it, is going to cost you an additional one to two dollars. You won’t find Godiva, or selections of exotic chocolates from faraway places. Some of the vendors here appear to be small enough to be making what you are paying extra for in their bathtubs. Much of what is offered isn’t even chocolate, but rather bite size servings braised or glazed with it. If you do the math, it’s far more practical, convenient and rewarding to pick yourself up a box of chocolates the next time you are at the mall. I think the vendors and attendees would have been better served by having one attendance fee and free samplings of all offered, with the idea being if you like the sample you buy or order more for future consumption. There’s only so much of this stuff you can eat in one setting, so getting your money’s worth will prove challenging for most.

Full disclaimer: I’m not a chocoholic… Having said that, I think the event was very well run and a great concept to begin with.
We were lucky to sample some wine and chocolate pairings, great (and unusual flavored) fudge and super creamy ice cream. The chocolate martinis were yummy as were the multiple cupcake offerings. Since this was a «preview» event, not all stations were set up. I can only imagine the taste overload when all the other vendors were present.
I think that getting tickets for this event as a gift for someone that really appreciates chocolate would be a unique and wonderful present.

This was a GREAT Unilocal offering! I brought my bestie to check out this Festival of Chocolate that Unilocal so graciously offered tickets to. Chocolate lovers united for an event that was so fun and educational!
Lots of free samples, wine and chocolate pairings, chocolate brownie brittle, martinis, fudge, ice cream. the list goes on and on. The people running the show were so enthusiastic. I found products and small business that I never knew of and will for sure purchase their products in the future now.
Thanks, Unilocal,for giving us a sneak peek and for all the goodies!

The wife and I came to the festival on Saturday. Good thing we came early ’cause it started to fill up fast. There are many kiosks that sell their food, however, they don’t take cash you must buy coins (You use the coins as currency, non refundable). The food and displays were nice only wish it were bigger and had more useful information about chocolate, it’s uses, etc. Maybe I expected too much. Lots of things for the kids to do.

Chocolate love. Oh my heaven. So I scored tickets for the sneak preview and we made an appearance to see what the festival was all about. The vendors had all sorts of varieties from cupcakes to fudge. It was super cool to see how chocolate was made and have samples from the local businesses. The wine and chocolate pairing was neat. Of course, my favorite was the white chocolate and the wine that went with it. I sense this event getting bigger and sweeter in the future.

For those that appreciate chocolate and everything about chocolate, don’t miss the Festival of Chocolate at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. This is a fantastic family event as well as an event for those Foodies that think they know chocolate. We started with some Brownie Bingo, played with M&Ms as game pieces (I kept running out). Next, we sampled some Chocolate Cupcakes with a small Chocolate Chip Cookie on top from Cupcake Cottage; some Fudge from a Flair for Fudge; more Chocolate Cupcakes from Suger Chef, some I Love Randi S’More’s homemade Ice Cream from Sloan Ice Cream (their shop is in City Place, across Okeechobee) and more fudge (Rocky Road). Then we moved on to some games, A Chco-​Match Challenge (great for the kids), Armpit Fudge (yes, you make fudge with in a plastic bag with your armpit) followed by some Brownie Brittle, a new product coming soon to selected Publix stores. We then saw a presentation on How Chocolate is Made. I had never seen a a Cocoa Pod before and seen how the seeds are dried and used to make chocolate. Finally, we were P&P Wine International, a West Palm Beach-​based Wine Distributor served up some Wine and Chocolate Pairings starting with a Riesling and White Chocolate.
The Festival of Chocolate is only 2 days, November 19 and November 20. Take the Okeechobee Road Exit off I-​95 and go East. The Palm Beach County Convention Center is located on your right. After you pass the convention center, there is a road leading to a large parking lot in back ($ 5).
Don’t forget to check out City Place after the event. City Place has a great lineup of shopping and restaurants.

I am totally addicted to Chocolate. I am, so when I scored some tickets to the sneak preview, driving from Miami to WPB was not a problem for us. We did have to stop to feed our daughter who we literally picked up from school and started the trek.
The Festival has vendors from all over, the chocolate goods range from fudge (OH YUM) to cupcakes to Chocolate Chips, not chips as in sweet chocolate chips but cocoa based salty deliciousness perfect for my Vegetarian chili — I do actually put cocoa in it as well, it makes it so substantial.
All of the vendors were incredibly passionate about sharing their goods, I was so very impressed also with the entrepreneurs who have built their delicious businesses from scratch. There was also a wine /​chocolate pairing and tasting. My favorite wine was a Romanian wine that I was told is pretty rare. Delicious!
The Chocolate museum was also so informative and a special treat to those of us with endless curiosity. I must say the organization and incredible professionalism of the event made it just right. Can’t wait to go next year!

If you are reading this and have the option to make your way out to the Palm Beach Convention center, you can still be saved.
Make your pilgrimage over the Festival and Chocolate and indulge yourself in all forms of this wonderful creation.
Chocolate will make you feel better, raise your spirit and maybe even save your life.
You will be treated to some very fantastic forms of Chocolate and who knows you may even catch a sugar high.
It is worth the trip, I guarantee it !

If you love chocolate like most of us do, you won’t want to miss this fantastic event. All I have to say is Armpit Fudge!!! Sounds gross but it’s great and fun to make. My wife and I drove up from Miami yesterday for a sneak preview of this event and believe me it was worth the drive. The event started off with a very informative and educational overview about where chocolate comes from and how it’s made. I learned so much in that half hour that I felt I should have gotten some college credits out of it. Go ahead ask me anything… lol After our little meet and greet we had a quick game of brownie bingo, needless to say we lost. Right after was the part that we were all waiting for… the CHOCOLATE !!! It was all media there yesterday but it was fun watching them go at it like it was the running of the bulls… I have to say that my wife and I immediately got lost in this magnificent world of chocolate. There was so much to try that when we left we couldn’t even have dinner. From chocolate potato chips. mmmm mmmm to chocolate ice cream to chocolate martinis we tried it all. Everything was fantastic. did I mention the chocolate fudge? Oh God it was to die. We loved the Cuban coffee toffee fudge bars, and the spicy fudge with jalapeño. Yes they sound strange but the taste was simply out of this world. Say Hi to Hilda the owner of «A flair For Fudge» she is the mastermind behind the exquisite, addictive, mind blowing FUDGE. Guys don’t miss this must go to event. It’s only going to be here for the weekend so get off your heinys and get going. Take the whole family the KIDS are going to LOVE it. They had everything from a make believe candy store to a Mario Brothers booth where they can play to all sorts of games that revolved around CHOCOLATE. For all us knowledge is key types they even have a full blown museum revolving around u know it… CHOCOLATE!!! Don’t miss this for the world!!! We want to thank Unilocal for putting together another amazing event. We just had the best time ever!!! Now off to the gym to get rid of some of the calories we had last night. But so worth it!!!

FUN FOR THE WHOLE CHOCOLATE-​LOVIN’ FAMILY! If a huge convention center filled with every possible chocolate treat imaginable sounds too good to be true, then you’ve found your happy place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. And it isn’t just treats; it’s interactive learning activities where you can find out where chocolate comes from and how it’s made. You actually get to pick up the cocoa pods and see the chocolate-​making process in action. You can also tour the «chocolate museum» to learn about the history of chocolate, and if you answer questions correctly, they’ll give you a chocolate-​scented pencil!
But enough of this «learning» stuff! Let’s be honest – I drove all the way up there so I could gobble up as much chocolate as possible, and boy oh boy did I ever! There was so much to try and taste it’s hard to catalog them all, so I’ll just hit a couple of high points.
Milk chocolate ice cream. It tastes like gourmet chocolate married gourmet ice cream and they had their honeymoon in my mouth.
Chocolate martinis. «Blue Martini» the Brickell-​Kendall bar people have a booth at the chocolate festival, and they’re mixing up martinis. Like chocolate all by itself isn’t decadent enough.
WASABI GINGER. «Flair for Fudge» is a small business that sells fudge gift baskets online. The people who make this fudge are really sweet and nice, but their fudge is evil. I got a little bag with fudge samples, and I don’t know what happened – all the samples are gone. The bag is empty. Did I really eat them all??? Let me tell you some of their flavors: key lime, Cuban coffee toffee, wasabi ginger!
CHOCOLATE-​WINE PAIRINGS. My favorite thing, without a doubt, at the whole convention was the chocolate-​wine pairings. Their table goes from lightest to darkest chocolates and wines. This was so delicious and amazing. Chocolate really does elevate wines and vice-​versa. I was expecting to like the reds with berry notes with chocolate, but this experience took the flavors SO much farther. Blew me away. If you go to the festival, do not miss the wine pairings!!!

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at this festival today and all I can say is that if you are a fan of all things chocolate, this is the place you want to be this weekend. No need to worry if your Valentine’s Day stash is waning. Now you can get a fresh chocolate fix at the festival.
You’ll not only have the opportunity to check out all the amazing chocolate vendors from the area, but also enjoy classes, professional competitions, interactive demos and games. This is an event for your entire chocolate loving family. Entrance to the festival is complimentary with your OSC admission. Each adult purchase ticket comes with three chocolate coins to spend on festival samples and additional coins will be available for purchase for $ 1 a piece. So spend a few extra minutes on that treadmill and then head over to the Orlando Science Center for some chocolate yumminess!