Went Back to the Chocolate Show (Just as Great)

Welcome back foodies! On Saturday I returned back to the Chocolate Show and it was just as great and was so much fun. Just as in the last post I want to mention the great people who ran cooking demonstrations.
When we went to the Chocolate Show on Saturday there was a super long line unlike Thursday when we just walked in. We waited a while but finally got in just in time to make Nick Malgieri's demo. So I thought Nick was funny and had a ton of knowledge. He made a Chocolate Hazelnut Tart. He explained that to get the perfect bottom crust on a tart or pie, the baking soda has a huge part. Because the baking soda causes the dough to rise but since the filling sits on it like a weight the baking soda moves the dough downward and makes a nice crust. He was really entertaining and to follow the demo he did a book signing. I already had all his books signed by him so I just to a picture with him.

 After Nick's demo we stayed for Lee Zalben, the founder and president of the Peanut Butter & Co. He made an incredible dark chocolate peanut butter and whipped cream crepe cake which was amazing. Lee was nice and gave away prizes. Lee taught a good demo and I absolutely love the Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter.

Right after Lee's demo, Francois Payard was doing a demo. Francois made a chocolate yuzu layer cake that was really good  (yuzu is a Japanese lemon). He also did a really cool trick with chocolate. He froze a big sheet of marble. Then he took melted chocolate and spread it all across the marble. Quickly he scraped it off the marble. The chocolate hardened but was still able to be manipulated. He made cool shapes with the chocolate and then after a minute or two it completely hardened.

A little while after we went to a demo with Lauri Ditunno. Lauri owns Cake Alchemy in New York. She made white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. Lauri also made a skeleton with cross bones made out of modeling chocolate. Modeling chocolate is like a gourmet tootsie roll that can be shaped and put into shaped molds as well. Lauri taught a good demo and I enjoyed watching her make the modeling chocolate a lot.

And now last but absolutely not least, we went to Erik Wolitzky's demo. Eric works at a bakery called Baked and was a contestant on Top Chef: Just Desserts. Erik made a gingerbread bundt cake. It was delicious and I can't wait to make it. Erik said when you go to Baked order the whoopie pies. I have never been to Baked but I have really wanted to go for a while. Also during his demo Erica, another contestant from Top Chef: Just Desserts, was just at the show to see Erik because they are good friends. Erica was really nice as well as Erik.

Also Jacques Torres was at his booth and was walking around the show. I love Jacques Torres and I was so excited to meet him. He was just having fun, walking around with a bull horn. He was really funny and was a pleasure to talk to.

The host of the show that day was Serena Palumbo from the Next Food Network Star. She also has a show that is on You Tube called Cooking in Manhattan. She was nice and a good host.

 The Chocolate Show was so fun and I can't wait to go back next year! Anyway we got a lot of great things coming up with this blog. Until next time.

-Mike