Got Plans this Weekend? Check out the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show at Navy Pier!

Psst....yeah, you over there.  Got plans this weekend?  No?  Love Chocolate?  Then you'll have to join us at the Chicago Fine Chocolate and Dessert Show this weekend October 18-20th at Navy Pier.  This is the second year and from what I'm reading its going to be even bigger and better than last year!

Last year we were lucky enough to attend the chocolate show and we had a blast!  You may remember reading our sneak peaks of the show last year.  Looking at those just goes to show how much I've grown as a blogger.  This year, even though I wanted to try all the chocolate possible before the show, time got away from me and we're going to show you some of what was our fave last year.

If you're in the Chicago area and haven't yet tried Mayana Chocolates, you should run right out to pick some up.  Chef Daniel makes the most amazing, to die for chocolates with rich vibrant flavors.  If you stop by their facebook page, you'll see this amazing photo that yours truly took!  I can't wait to see what he's got in-store for us this year.

Another amazing chocolatier is flying noir.   Karen makes the most gorgeous hand painted chocolates.  Each one is truly a work of art.  There is also a surprising amount of spice in each piece.  Last year we were lucky enough to sample her hot chocolate blends.  Let me tell you, if you love a kick in your sweets these are right up your alley!  Especially if you have a hard to please chocolate lover at the very least you are giving them something handcrafted that they might even try to hang on their wall.  I'm not saying that they will but you never know.  Some of us chocolate lovers take love to an entirely new level.

You'll also see chocolate liqueurs.  We particularly loved 360 Double Chocolate Vodka.  It had a great chocolate taste that we love using in mixed drinks and pastries.  That's right, did you know you can sub vodka in for water in pastries?  Especially pie dough.  This way you get extra unexpected flavor in your desserts. Nothing like pie that doesn't scream for some chocolate!  You so rarely find a good chocolate pie crust.  Not to mention a good martini with chocolate because alcohol can do that now, make adult drinks taste like candy bars.

Indie Craft Galore

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So many things going on in Chicago this weekend.  There's the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show, the opening of the recently moved Old Navy in the Loop, and the indie craft show: The DIY Trunk Show.

I am so excited to attend The DIY Trunk Show tomorrow!  I've recently moved to Chicago for graduate school and have begun to explore the city and attend indie craft events.  In September, I attended the Randolph Street Market, which had an indie craft section.  I'm lucky because this show is only 10 minutes on the Redline from my apartment!  I love craft shows that are comprised of indie designers because it's fun to meet people my age and see what they're making.  Of course, the shopping aspect also counts!  

I bought these pages of illustrations that were $1.00 each at the Randolph Street Market and did a quick and cheap DIY to hang them in my kitchen.  I went to Michaels and bought jewelry wire, mini clothes pins from the kids craft section, and I already had these plant hanger hooks.  I have a ton of these pages that I plan to hang up when I live in a larger apartment.

I plan to check out the Trunk Show tomorrow morning and hope to find more decorative art.  I am also meeting my fellow Rosie Discovers bloggers for lunch at Navy Pier while they take a break from tasting chocolates at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show.  

Chicago Fine Chocolate Show - Friday Nov 16th, 2012

Today was finally THE day for the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show!  Talk about excitement.  We saw most of it!  You can check out all our awesome (yet-unedited) photos in the slideshow below!  So much to look at and taste.

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Chocolate Shop (Precept Wines) - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

I've got another Chicago Fine Chocolate Show preview for you!  This one is a little different as its not a chocolate candy, but a chocolate alcohol!  Chocolate Shop, produced by Precept Wines, has a variety of chocolate wine choices.  They were kind enough to send me a couple bottles to sip on before the show.

First I have to say I've only ever tasted one chocolate wine before and it wasn't that spectacular.  I'm also not a huge fan of red wines in particular as I prefer sweeter ones.  But these are incredibly sweet with just the right amount of chocolate.

The Chocolate Lover's Wine is a very sweet red that truly tastes like you're drinking chocolate!  It doesn't have that flat red wine taste at all.

The Chocolate Strawberry wine literally tastes like strawberries that were picked at their peak and then dipped in chocolate.  But its a wine, how incredible is that!

The Creme De Cocoa is wonderful treat.  The chocolate and mint are perfectly blended.  This wine is great poured over some ice.  It doesn't need anything else to make it special.

All of these wines were a delight to try.  If you're a wine and chocolate lover on the lookout for something new this holiday season, these are for you!  Definitely head down to the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend to give them a try.

*Precept Wines sent me these wines for review.  All opinions are my own.*

Flying Noir - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

Flying Noir is one of the amazing chocolatiers who is going to be at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend.  While they aren't local to the Chicago area, they're out in California, they did offer to send us a sampling of chocolate they'll have at the show.

Karen sent us two packages of drinking chocolate passionata and kerala d.c..  Both were quite different.  The passionata has a fruity flavor due to the banana, mango and guava.  While the kerala d.c. is a more classic hot chocolate with bite.  Either flavor is a definite treat for chocolate lovers.

Karen also included a gorgeous box of her handmade, hand-painted chocolates.  I absolutely loved that they sparkled!  But it made them a little difficult to photograph.  My fave was the roo, with its creamy rooibus white chocolate ganache center.  I also loved the details used to make the boxes special.  From the printed rubber band to the black tissue paper inside they were a visual delight.

A lot of the chocolates had an interesting bite to them.  I'd definitely recommend these to anyone who loves spicy food.  That added bite isn't something I've encountered often in chocolates.  It was definitely a change of pace.

*Flying Noir sent me these chocolates for review.  All opinions are my own.*

ChocoPerfection - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

ChocoPerfection is another of the wonderful chocolates you'll encounter this weekend at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show.  They're a little different from the rest as their entire line of chocolates are sugar free!  ChocoPerfection bars also contain prebiotic fiber in every bar which helps to keep you feeling full.  So not only are these chocolate bars healthy, they'll also help you stick to your diet!  I can't think of another chocolate that can make that claim.

When I think of sugar-free chocolate it just makes me shudder.  It almost always makes me think of something fake and chalky tasting.  ChocoPerfection bars are nothing like that.  They taste like a regular high quality chocolate bar.

ChocoPerfection was kind enough to send us a selection of bars to try.  I have to say the dark chocolate mint was definitely a huge fave.  It actually reminded me of a frango mint.  They were that good!

If you're on the lookout for a great high quality sugar-free chocolate bar, definitely check out the ChocoPerfection booth at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend!

*ChocoPerfection supplied me with the product for this review.  All opinions are my own.*

Terry's Toffee - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

This week we stopped by Terry's Toffee here in the city.  They were our second stop for the Chicago Fine Chocolate show.  It was easy to find, not too far off the expressway.  The atmosphere was inviting when you walked in the door.  The decorations in the entry way show how much Terry's Toffee is loved by their visitors.  

The best part has to be the smell.  You can tell right away when you open the door that you are entering a toffee wonderland.  They sell a variety of toffee treats.  From their McCall's Classic (their original recipe) to popcorn coated in toffee or ice cream with toffee.

Their flavors can please any palette.  The McCall's Classic is a traditional English toffee, while they have flavors such as Koffee Toffee (with espresso) or Chai-cago Spice (with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardmom & pepper) or Lavenilla (with lavendar and vanilla).  Their toffee is paired with a multitude of ingredients to combine into combinations that pop.  With 14 flavors of toffee, you are bound to find one to become your own personal favorite.

If you know a toffee lover like us, then you may have just stumbled upon the perfect gift.  They have a variety of gift options.  Or like us, we bought a small sampler for our Mom since it was her birthday, they wrapped it up for us.

Did you know that they are the sweet treat at the Oscars since 2005?  Well they are.  They've also been gifted to a variety of celebrities including the Queen and also current and former Presidents.

Mayana Chocolate - Chicago Chocolate Show Preview

Alison: Here at Rosie Discovers we're all about going the extra mile for our readers.

Susie: In this case it means a little bit of driving.

Alison: Right.  Not only are we going to attend and review the Chicago Chocolate show, we're also going to bring you previews of what you'll find at the show.  Some of the previews will be local and others will be not so local.

Susie: Most of them we aren't actually visiting in person, because they are busy making chocolate for all the lovely people going to the Chicago Chocolate show.

Alison:Let me tell you, it's going to be a horrible trial to have to sample all this chocolate.  NOT!

Susie: You're right, I'll need to take precautions.

Alison: What precautions? You're not actually going to be in danger!

Susie: No, I mean Mom-precautions. I need a better place to hide all this chocolate.  Is that your phone ringing? *Slides box of chocolate into a drawer*

Alison: You need to work on that, maybe you should wait for me to leave next time.

Alison: Our first stop on the Chicago Chocolate show preview is Mayana Chocolate.  Mayana Chocolate is local to the Chicago area and available by online purchase.

Susie: This is where the driving part comes in; we live in that magical Chicago area.

Alison: Exactly. Sunday, the two of us headed out to meet Chef Daniel of Mayana Chocolate.  He was hard at work packing up a chocolate order in these snazzy new boxes for a shipment.  Aren't they just gorgeous?

Susie: Yes, the colors are striking and snazzy.  Plus the best gifts come in pretty boxes.

Alison: After showing us the new packaging he offered to let us sample his wares. Let me tell you these are the most amazing chocolates we've tasted in a long long time.

Susie: By far!  He sets the bar really high.  I am having trouble imagining there is better chocolate out there to be found.

Alison: Probably because Chef Daniel doesn't use any artificial ingredients or extracts in his chocolates and you can definitely taste that.

Alison: For example, the Mint-Dark Chocolate gets its amazing mint flavor from actual mint leaves.  There is such a crisp, fresh mint taste.

Susie: I thought I was eating a mint leaf I picked myself.  If only we could make our mint plants taste that good, then life would be good.

Alison: Or we'd never leave the house again.

Susie: So, my plan has flaws.  I just need time to tweak a few elements.

Alison: Right...Well, the Toasted Coconut actually uses fresh coconut milk and toasted coconut to get its flavor.

Susie: Except better, because coconuts do not come with a chocolate coating.

Alison: All the chocolates we tasted had such intense flavor in them.  If you were to slice most of the chocolates in half you'd see the layers of flavor that make up these chocolates.

Susie: We did see them!  

Alison: Only it would have been difficult to photograph that.

Susie: I suppose, but you can taste the layers.  The textures add another dimension.  Not only stunning flavor combinations and good looks, but also complex texture profiles.

Alison: The whole package in one bite!

Susie: I still can't believe that each one we tried was better than the one before it.


Alison: I know, I was in the car on the ride home.  You wouldn't stop raving about them.

Susie: ... *points* Did you see that?

Alison: *Turns to look*

Susie:  You must have missed it.

Alison: Where did the chocolate go?

Susie:  I don't know what you're talking about.  

*All opinions are our own.  Chef Daniel supplied our chocolate samples.*

Chicago Fine Chocolate Show Nov. 16-18th at Navy Pier

I'm excited to share that we're going to the Chicago Fine Chocolate show at Navy Pier November 16-18th. What is the Chicago Fine Chocolate show you might ask?  It's a place where chocolatiers from all over the world are coming to showcase their chocolates.  It's the very first year and there are going to be at least 100 vendors.  Not only are we going, we've got press passes so you'll definitely get to see everything!  

Due to this, I'm pretty sure the majority of November is going to be all about chocolate here on Rosie Discovers.  Already we've posted a recipe for a buttermilk chocolate bread, which totally rocks BTW, and there will be many more recipes to come.

If you're interested in attending the show, tickets are $35 for adults and include 15 tickets to try the chocolates.