Eat Me: New York Hosts the 9th Annual Chocolate Show

By Charu Suri

A chance to visit a show devoted to chocolate is like being offered a knighthood or a Nobel Prize: you simply don’t pass up the opportunity.

Chocolate has a myriad of uses (think comfort food, molé sauce…it was also used to represent blood in the famous shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho!). But let’s face it, if you’re a chocoholic like I am, it simply doesn’t matter how versatile it is, or what form of chocolate you choose to love. Truffles, macaroons and brownies are all fair game for your most indulgent cravings.

It’s little wonder that New York plays host to the nation’s largest homage to chocolate. The 9th Annual Chocolate Show was held at the Altman Building from November 9-12th, and brought together the best confectioners from Kyoto to Kansas.

The event kicked off with a fashion show in which models wore chocolate-studded clothing created by designers including Abaete, Adrienne Landau, Nicole Romano and Rafe. Each designer teamed up with a well-known pastry chef to produce chocolate inspirations that ranged from a headpiece modeled after New York skyscrapers, to a pair of angelic chocolate wings. With all those sumptuous aromas wafting over the crowd, I’m sure the models felt extra hungry that night.

The costumes were elaborate and painstakingly put together, and the models’ hair was done by Aveda’s stylists, and the makeup by Sephora. Creations included a mosaic-studded cashmere robe and a Marie Antoinette-inspired dress ruffled with chocolate lace and buttons. To view scenes from the chocolate fashion show, click on our video PODCAST.

The real treat was the maze of chocolatiers with their amazing confections on display for all to enjoy, taste and purchase. Ganache, ballotins, liquer truffles, chocolate-dipped fruit (even potato crisps!) and chocolate fountains all made their appearance, much to the delight of my sweet tooth and to the dismay of my Weight Watchers points.

Here are some of our top picks from the show. Mary Chocolatier (not to be confused with Mary’s Chocolates), from Belgium, made their United States debut at the chocolate show. The store in Belgium is appropriately located on Rue Royale, and is considered the holy grail of chocolate. Their confections are handmade and pricey, but they are listed in the “1,000 places to See Before You Die” guide, and may well be worth the cost. The web site, www.mary.be, even has a picture of President Bush visiting the store.

A surprising encounter was Hershey’s (www.hersheys.com) new “Cacao Reserve” chocolates, which also made their debut at the show. A self-proclaimed Hershey’s snob, I was wooed by their new dark chocolate squares, made up of 35%, 65% and 70% dark chocolate. Soon, they will be available at local stores so you can finally taste something delectable from the brand.

Other notables included Fairytale Brownies (www.brownies.com), whose twelve varieties of brownies is a perfect gift to give a hostess or co-worker; Marquise De Sevigne chocolates (www.marquise-de-sevigne.com) whose exquisite rococo packaging would make even Marie Antoinette drool; and Romanicos Chocolate (www.romanicos.com), whose 38-calorie truffles will fit into any dieter’s regimen without compromising on taste.

So though you may be thinking of basting that turkey, don’t forget to get that ever-popular crowd pleaser, chocolate. As Lucy Van Pelt says in the Peanuts comic strip, “All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”

GET A LITTLE GLAMOUR ON THANKSGIVING

Who says you can’t eat Turkey in style? Come to Bergdorf Goodman’s Beauty Level on the 24th and 25th of November, and receive expert advice on holiday glamour from the pros at Awake Cosmetics. Plus you’ll get a chance to purchase the limited edition Stardom Holiday Collection (a $118 value) for a mere $45.

You’ll also receive a special gift with purchase during this event. To reserve your spot, call (212) 872 8648.

Going Grassroots Was Never So Stylish:
The Cruel vs. Cool Contest Heats Things Up Humanely
By Gillian Weeks

The winners: Auguste, Orr, and Widjojo

Cruella DeVilles of the world take note: you can still get show stopping style without adding to the death toll. The Cruel vs. Cool contest, sponsored by the Humane Society and The Art Institutes, teaches us that fur substitutes have a place in any designer’s arsenal. Hundreds of Art Institute students from schools around the country offered their fur-free interpretations of classic looks, and from these a handful were chosen to present their creations in New York. The winning garments boldly proclaim that glamour doesn’t have to come at the ultimate price.

Before I arrived at Sol, where the awards event was being held, I was expecting the typical activist crowd – peasant skirts, dream catcher earrings, and wool socks with birkenstocks. I felt lucky to be wearing my imitation leather biker jacket, although my choice of vinyl had more to do with my finances than environmental sensitivity. I braced myself for a cloud of patchouli and ducked inside.

There wasn’t a dreadlock in sight. Animal rights activism has lately become the territory of the chicest members of the fashion community. They want you to know that while old school glamour is never out of style, fur clothes and trimmings are decidedly passé. Up-and-coming designers, like third place winner Neisha Orr from Bradley Academy of Visual Arts, have promised to strike fur products from their future repertoire. With this shift in attitudes, fur in fashion might be going the way of the buffalo.

Jay McCarroll and Nora Caliguri from Project Runway Season 1

Jay McCarroll, the winner of Project Runway Season One, observed that designers have no excuse to abstain from cruelty-free products. “It’s not a real stretch of creativity to design without fur,” he says. “I mean, there are, like, seven hundred other kinds of fabrics out there.”

Annie Judah of the Humane Society reports that the biggest challenge of the campaign is to change perceptions of fur itself. “People don’t realize that it’s not fabric – it’s hair and skin,” she says. The jarring footage of a Canadian seal hunt, presented at the event, was enough to drive the message home.

From left to right: the designs of Ricardo Auguste, Marisa Widjojo, Neisha Orr

The contest winners – Marisa Widjojo, Ricardo Auguste, and Neisha Orr – will certainly go on to deliver cruelty-free fashion. The rest of it depends on scene makers and trendsetters to take up the charge (that’s right – I’m talking to you). The Humane Society’s Pierre Grzybowski notes that “trends in fashion can influence the amount of suffering in the world.” Don’t think of it as a sacrifice – after all, I looked damn good in vinyl.

Chocolate Addiction in A Box