SALON INTERNACIONAL DE CHOCOLATE DE MADRID: A FAIR FOR YOUR SWEET TOOTH

By Jack Wright

Listen, you people happily afflicted with Sweet Tooth, you’re in luck. Chocolate is getting its very own annual international fair in Madrid, the Salon Internacional del Chocolate de Madrid, starting this year. And what a sweet event – even aphrodisiac, since chocolate allegedly is!

Master chocolatiers — Justo Almendrote, David Pallás, Segio Vela, Jordi Farrés, et cetera — will be on hand to ensure that the fair will live up to expectations, an affair to look forward to, year after year.

La Colonial Eureka

A joint venture of the 150-year-old La Colonial de Eureka, Madrid’s oldest chocolate factory, the Fundación Villa y Corte de Chocolate, and other related private and public entities in Madrid such as the public TV channel TeleMadrid, it’s on from the 14^th to the 16^th of September, from 10 am to 10 pm.

The Fair is being held in conjunction with International Chocolate Day.  Actually, there are several Chocolate Day celebrations in many parts of the world. In the United States alone, the National Confectioners Association celebrates four Chocolate Days: the Chocolate Day on 7 July, the National Chocolate Day on 28 October and on 28 December, and the aforementioned International Chocolate Day (13 September).

In store at the International Chocolate Fair of Madrid are chocolate confections that range from the classic through the popular to the esoteric:

• STANDS of local and international brands of chocolate
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• 

  Ginger Holly by Jordi Farrés

  MASTER CLASS: Star confectioners will create their mouthwatering masterpieces before the public

• CATAS: Wine and chocolate tastings led by experts in the field. The event will include a demonstration of the whole process of chocolate confection, from the raw cacao to the final product and their pairing with the best of wines, especially the wines of the region of Madrid
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• CHOCOHELADOS: Ice cream masters’ latest creations
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• 

  A sample of a chocolate tattoo

  CHOCOSPA: Health and beauty treatments with chocolate

• CHOCOTATUAJE: Tattoos made with chocolate
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• CHOCO CLUB: Chocolate creations by children aged between 4 and ten years guided by the students of the Escuela Superior de Formacion
  Profesional de Pasteleria de Madrid
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• CHOCO INNOVA: Startling innovations in chocolate confectionery
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• CHOCOMAD SMART: Smart biological cold-melt chocolate products with no gluten and sugar
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• CHOCOMUSEO: The Fair’s educational section dedicated to spreading the history of the cacao industry, through the best books and advertisement materials on the subject
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• EXHIBITS:
  

  Chocolate sculptures by artist Abner Iban

> Chocolate sculptures on climate change, created by artist Abner Iban, which will also be shown at the International Chocolate Festival of Obidos, one of the most charming and picturesque fortified towns in Portugal
> A big collection of miniature trains bearing advertisements of chocolate brands
> “Mujeres de Cacao” (The Cocoa Women), a photographic journey into the cocoa producing countries of Latin America
> Vintage posters related to chocolate

• NOCHES DE CACAO: Evenings of music and chocolate

For its inaugural edition, the Dominican Republic has been chosen as the Fair’s Guest Country (país invitado). The election was announced by the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Spain, His Excellency Olivo Rodriguez Huertas, and the President of the Fundación Villa y Corte del Chocolate, Don Francisco González, who both signed a collaboration accord at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Madrid.

Chocolate museum in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Says Don Francisco González: “The Dominican Republic has all the merits, attributes and presence in the world of cacao. For this reason, it is worthy of being chosen as the [Fair’s] guest country.”

In response, the Ambassador expressed his appreciation for the honor bestowed on his country.

The Dominican Republic is the world’s biggest exporter of organic cacao, with a 60% share of the global market. It is committed to sustainable production and fair trade.

To join, buy ticket online or at the Fair: €7.00 (with a complimentary chocolate bar from Colonial de Eureka)

Venue: Galeria de Cristal del Palacio de Cibeles, Calle Montalban 1, 28014 Madrid

Come and get it!

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Images are from the websites of the Salon Internacional de Chocolate, and Callebaut, Fair Use, except
Featured image/Hungry Dudes, CC BY2.0
Chocolate tattoo/Nagarjum, CC BY2.0
Choco Museo/Unokorno via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY3.o