Salon du Chocolat - last bites

5 days out of 6 I attended this year's Salon du Chocolat. That's a record for me.

The chocolate fountains were flowing as always...

One of my favorite tiny chocolate boxes from Jean-Charles Rochoux.

The other small chocolate box is from Pierre Herme.

Pierre Herme was very much present at the Salon

Doing hot chocolate demos and giving classes. Lots of new people at the Salon this year.

Speaking of small, these little jars of tartiner in all flavors were awfully tempting...

A wall of flowing chocolate from Bonnet.

Lots of chocolate machines emphasizing the bean-to-bar process at the Salon.

The biggest column of chocolates from Belgian Leonidas.

Slabs of chocolate stacked like greeting cards. What a nice way to say "Hello!"

I've yet to get a good view of the annual chocolate fashion show without parking myself for an hour ahead.

The closest I got to the daily show at 4:30. Forgetaboutit!

Fortunately the outfits are on display as well...

Two of my favorite gowns...

Where would the Salon be without all the young student chefs helping out? Me, I'm ready for some serious detox and minceur/thinning teas bien sur.

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Salon du Chocolat - the color Orange

Project: match the orange of this hatbox...

It took several hatboxes (filled with macarons by the way) to get the color right...

Et voila!

I thought it was just Frederic Cassel who was mad for orange...but there was orange everywhere I looked at the Salon du Chocolat.

Orange is a color well-loved by chocolate makers including Arnaud Larher and Henri le Roux..

Orange is the perfect backdrop for caramel au beurre sale evidently...

Doing a little color research I found out why the prevalence of orange

Orange is also stimulating to the appetite.

If you love having people around the kitchen table, orange will keep them talking and eating for a long time. Many restaurants use pastel versions of orange, such as apricot or peach or deeper versions such as terracotta, for their décor as they are more subtle than red, yet still increase the appetite and promote conversation and social interaction, which in turn encourages patrons to have a good time and to eat and drink more.

The color orange is obviously the worst color to have in the kitchen if you are trying to lose weight!

Ah ha!

More on Orange

Enthusiasm: Orange is optimistic and extroverted - the color of the uninhibited.

Rejuvenation: Orange helps to restore balance to our physical energies.

Stimulation: Orange is not as passionate or as excitable as red, but it is stimulating, particularly to the appetite - the worst color to have in the kitchen if you want to lose weight.

Courage: Orange helps us to take account of our lives, to face the consequences, to take action and make appropriate changes, and then to move onward and upward.

Vitality: Orange has a more balanced energy than red, not as passionate and aggressive, but full of vitality

A preponderance of orange makes perfect sense since all this chocolate is made with oranges.

Are you a fan of orangettes?

Chocolaterie Bellangers very long chocolate-covered orangettes were calling my name but the purse was empty. Georges says I should come to the Salon with no money and no carte bleu...Hmmmm

This is my second helping (in 2 days) of Basques Paries tres delish home-made ice cream (flavor pistachio. What else?). They have it in their Paris store as well...uh oh.

Orange-flavored pain d'Epice makes perfect sense...

The sign of a true chocolate aficionado are all-orange pants no?

Does your orange ginger cat want to go to Paris?

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Salon du Chocolat - Tartiner

I love Burnt Sienna. It's my favorite watercolor. Is it because it's the color of caramels?

The Salon du Chocolat this year was flooded with pate de tartiner of noisette/hazelnuts and caramel au beurre sale.

Throw out your salted butter PBers. France is now putting these two yummy spreads on their toast in the morning.

The tartiner de noisette from Basques Paries is...are there words to describe this? Smooth, lush, intensely nutty. They now have a shop in Paris at 9bis rue Saint Placide 75006

I bought one from Pascal Legac too. Fortunately Geraldine of PPP took it off my hands (this is what friends are for). Can one person have two jars of noisette tartiner in the house, especially if that person would flunk the 'Marshmallow Test' in a clin d'oeil/wink. I think not.

The jars are sooooo beautiful.

Running out of euros helps build resistance!

I love these old-fashioned granny jars...maim

During the shoot at Frederic Cassel Fontainebleau for the Winter items for the new catalog,

Chef Cassel got to hold a spoon with dripping caramel. It's hard work but someone has to do it. He opened a year old jar ("vintage' caramel?) for the drip. We all took a taste and lived to tell the tale.I was told at the Salon,

Do not put your tartiner in the fridge.

And eat it up within 10 days.

When Louise saw my picture yesterday of Henri Le Roux' pain perdu she had to have it.

Fortunately I turned up and we shared a taste.

So many jars of caramel.

So little resistance...

At Laurent Duchene

On the confiserie/candy floor (stand E4) do not miss these 4th generation caramels from Les Nicettes.

Made by two young entrepreneurs, these caramels are to die for IMHO, artisanal, sans colorant and sans conservateur. I'm hoping Le Bonbon au Palais will carry them so I don't have to go to the Pyrenees for my next hit.

If you'd like to make your own, the NYTimes has a recipe to follow front page. And if you're coming to Paris and want to look like a caramel never passed your lips please do contact me for your portrait in Paris.

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