Today I attended my first San Francisco Chocolate Salon and Festival, which also happened to be the 20th anniversary of the sweet salon. Held at the Hall of Flowers in the San Francisco County Fair Building, the event is an incredible deal for chocolate lovers. For the advance ticket price of $25, you get to participate in an immersive tasting experience from award-winning chocolatiers, confectioners, and pastry chefs.
There was a huge variety of booths showcasing the most creative truffles, fudge, brownies, Brazilian brigadeiros, toffee, drinking chocolate, and even teas in the form of chocolate bars. I tried a spicy dark chocolate bar with cranberries and chili, balsamic strawberry-flavored chocolates, yuzu and matcha tea chocolates, pistachio and saffron white chocolate truffles, and many more. The samples were generous, and they were all truly delicious.
This event is not just about chocolate tastings but also includes talks by well-known authors like Birgitte Rasine and panels highlighting the work of Indian and Asian chocolate makers.
Awards are given for “Best in Show” and “Judges’ Choice,” which are highly coveted in the industry.
Some highlights of my visit included stops at Socola Chocolatier, a maker known for playful, Asian-inspired flavors like durian and sriracha. I also enjoyed the blood orange chocolates at CocoTutti, the multi-award winning Bay Area chocolatier whose hand-painted pieces look like small, colorful jewels. For drinking chocolate, Rayluca was outstanding. They are a chocolatier from San Diego that sells authentic Italian hot chocolate made with organic Belgian dark chocolate.
I ended up tasting just about every sample and leaving with a Socola pretzel and potato chip milk chocolate bar and a white chocolate macadamia nut brookie from Dough It Up! Bakery from Rancho Cordova, California.
If you missed the Chocolate Salon this time around there is typically a fall chocolate salon in November geared toward the holiday season with holiday flavors.