The summer months are traditionally the slowest time of year for the chocolate business. People just don’t purchase and consume much chocolate when it is sweltering outside. One confectioner friend told me he thought he would kill himself the first July he was in business. No sales. Nothing. Nada. Chocolatiers and confectioners use this time of year to attend trade shows and relax before the busy fall and winter season.
That’s why the setting and timing for the first San Francisco International Chocolate Salon could not have been better. Not only is summer in San Francisco cool and foggy, it is also an easier time of year for a chocolatier to be away from their business. Especially important since many of the attendees had just returned from the Fancy Food Show in New York City the week before. From a chocolatier and confectioner’s point of view this show was a great way to get a lot of visibility in a short amount of time closer to home. We hope that it was money and time well spent for these vendors to get their product out in front of the right press and the targeted audience of chocolate loving consumer.
From the look of the line and crowd, it was an immediate success for the over 2,000 attendees. One of my Chocolate Tasting Class students said that she thought it was better than a chocolate event she had attended at Copia in Napa. What was different? The lines at this show moved faster and it was easier to talk to the exhibitors.
I had a great time. Because I was invited to be on the tasting panel, I arrived early on Saturday before it got crowded. It was great to see friends like Art Pollard and Clark Goble of Amano Chocolates, Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates and Kathy Wiley of Poco Dolce. And to reconnect with Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms. And then there were the new friends like Emily Stone of Chocolate in Context who gave a very interesting talk about cacao in Central America. Yosh Han spoke about her work as a perfumer and shared three scents that she developed for Temper Chocolates in Boston. I was sorry to miss the chocolate meditation presented by Rev. R. M. Peluso of The Community of Peace and Spirituality in New York City but was pleased to meet her and share our similar experiences with chocolate.
There is talk that the next Chocolate Salon could happen as early as this fall in Los Angeles.
Left to Right: Kathy Wiley of Poco Dolce, Charles Chocolate Hearts, Heinz Rimann of The Tea Room, Coco Delice, Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms, Clark Goble and Art Pollard of Amano Chocolate with Karletta
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