SF Chocolate Salon 2011

This years salon is the 5th annual SF Chocolate Salon and it looks to be the best one yet! Each year I discover a new chocolate maker that I love, many of whom are local to the Bay Area. The plethora of amazing artisan chocolate makers is absolutely mind blowing!

On top of the opportunity to taste test many of these delicious concoctions, there will be recipe and technique demos, interviews with top chocolate specialists like one of my personal faves Alice Medrich and some fascinating takes on the classic treat via such as Van Gogh Vodka, the makers of Dutch Chocolate flavored Vodka.

There are still some tickets left, so join your fellow chocolate lovers and let's enjoy some of the best that is on offer!

Here is a list of just some of the participants this year:

The TeaRoom chocolate, Guittard Chocolate Company, Christopher Michael Chocolates, Choclatique, Divine Chocolate, Alter Eco Fair TradeChocolate, Dolce Bella Chocolates and Cafe, Neo Cocoa, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Vice Chocolates, Socola Chocolatier, Amano Artisan Chocolate, and many many more!

Follow the Chooclate Salon on Twitter!

SF Chefs Food & Wine event review

I volunteered on Friday for the SF Chefs Food and Wine event, and what an event it was!

I started my morning by guiding people to a room where we would all get to hear about GeorgeAnne Brennan and Martin Yan's culinary journeys.

I have not yet read 'A Pig in Provence', though I now fully intend to.

It was amazing to be in the same room as Chef Yan, whose cooking show I watched every weekend, with my dad, when I was a kid.



Afterwards I got to hit the big tent, where I tried food from Lake Chalet's chef, Jared. Lake Chalet is opening in Oakland this next week, and I am really excited to taste more of the food! If this losbster deviled egg is any indication of Jared's talents, I am ready!



I loved, loved, loved Parke Ulrich of Waterbar's sweet corn soup with pickled shrimp, which had flavors that really expanded my palate's capacity.

Bi Rite Creamery was serving up Strawberry IC, but I really gotta try the Salted Caramel....

Roland Passot of La Folie was serving up (fantastic) corn mousse with bacon marinated scallops.



Mark Dommen of One Market was having fun with his crabcakes on a spoon.

Erik Hopfinger of Circa, had awesome fish tacos, Chef Eric, please forgive that lousy description, which doesn't do your dish justice!

It was a wonderful and amazing day, and there was so much more that happened, which is why there is more to come!