Tout Les Chocolats!

I walked through the doors of the Salon du Chocolat not really sure what to expect. Judging by the amount of people, I thought the atmosphere would resemble something like my experiences with the Minnesota State Fair--hectic, noisy, and just a tad bit chaotic. At first glance, it looked pretty similar. There was quite a crowd of all ages, and crowds jostled each other as they pressed close to the booths and exhibits packed into the room. However, in yet another reminder of the stark difference between American and French noise levels, the noise level was surprisingly subdued although still pretty loud for France. It also gave me an idea of how much French culture values good food, as I saw more happy faces in one place than I've seen in the entirety of my time in Paris--excluding in church MLK, of course. As we pushed through the crowds, it was interesting to see the different character of each booth--here were small, dainty chocolates placed with plenty of blank space to draw attention to details, and there were stacks upon stacks of rough-edged slabs of different blends of chocolate. In the samples we tried, I learned that many chocolatiers favored texture. For example, where most chocolates in US would add flavor through dried fruit or a smooth filling, many chocolatiers at this festival placed whole ingredients on top of the chocolate rather than in it--think large dehydrated strawberries on top of a milk chocolate bar. It was pretty different, but it was quite good! I also discovered that Japanese and French chocolatiers evidently have fairly close ties; the exhibition featured several Japanese chocolate makers and a small exhibition about Japanese culture. However, beyond what I could observe walking around the booths, I'm afraid I really didn't learn very much on this excursion. The festival appeared to primarily be a place to buy chocolate, and the few exhibits about the process of making it were in not-so-foreigner-friendly levels of French.