{"id":21589,"date":"2012-12-09T17:29:27","date_gmt":"2012-12-09T17:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noexpert.co.uk\/?p=21589"},"modified":"2013-04-20T11:41:55","modified_gmt":"2013-04-20T10:41:55","slug":"the-chocolate-festival-christmas-treats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/?p=21589","title":{"rendered":"The Chocolate Festival &#8211; Christmas Treats!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bah! Humbug! I so nearly didn&#8217;t go to the conveniently timed pre christmas <a title=\"Chocolate Festival\" href=\"http:\/\/www.festivalchocolate.co.uk\/festivals\/london\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chocolate Festival<\/a> in London this year&#8230; but I am so glad I did. There is such a great selection of stalls and the festival is just full of  quality chocolate goods and fun ideas for Christmas presents. I had been gauging how busy it was via my Twitter feed and thought it would be too much of a pain to battle my way through the crowds as this Festival seems to be an example of being spoilt by success. Maybe they will get more space next year based on just how popular an event this has become.\u00a0 Fortunately I did manage to find a quiet time on the Sunday &#8211; I am not saying when exactly as that might spoil it for me next year.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-21589 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0847.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0847-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0842.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0842-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0835.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0835-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0836.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0836-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0832.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0832-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0852.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0852-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0839.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0839-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0838.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0838-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0850.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tn_IMAG0850-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>As it was quieter I was able to chat with probably one of the busiest and well known Chocolatiers  in the business <a title=\"Paul A Young\" href=\"http:\/\/www.festivalchocolate.co.uk\/the-masters\/paul-a-young\/\" target=\"_blank\">Paul A Young<\/a>.\u00a0 Pauls session in the Chocolate Cookery Theatre was on Saturday so I was  very surprised to spot him manning the stand on the Sunday, he was there  just prior to making a tour of his <a title=\"Paul A Young - London Shops\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paulayoung.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">London shops<\/a> &#8211; it&#8217;s a hard life  being a Chocolatier!\u00a0 We spoke about the success of the festival and he  told me that Saturday had been the busiest day that the festival had ever  had. One of the reasons I think that this festival works so well is that  it provides access to both new innovations and to some of the UKs  world class Chocolatiers.\u00a0 <a title=\"William Curley\" href=\"http:\/\/www.williamcurley.com\/engine\/shop\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">William Curley <\/a>also had a stand and <a title=\"Duffy's - Red Star Chocolate\" href=\"http:\/\/redstarchocolate.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\">Duffy&#8217;s<\/a> were there too, however I couldn&#8217;t get near their stand as it was busy even  during the quiet time!<\/p>\n<p>I tried a few samples as I worked my way around the stalls &#8211;\u00a0 the highlights were <a title=\"Paul Wayne Gregory\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paulwaynegregory.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Wayne Gregory&#8217;s<\/a> stand where they were pushing  his new salted caramel flavour  lollipops, a divine idea and <a title=\"Artisain du Chocolat\" href=\"http:\/\/artisanduchocolat.com\/\">Artisain du Chocolat<\/a> where I tried their honeycomb and gingerbread chocolates, which are a tasty new seasonal addition.<\/p>\n<p>Another stand that caught my eye was the rather glamorous looking <a title=\"Sven Herzog\" href=\"http:\/\/www.svenherzog.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Herzog<\/a> one, showcasing Chocolatier P\u00e2tissier Sven Herzogs wares. I was also rather impressed by the <a title=\"Chocmotif\" href=\"http:\/\/www.chocmotif.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chocmotif<\/a> stand. I like the idea of chocolate greetings cards and they  have a great selection, just think  off all the paper Christmas cards you throw out after Christmas, isn&#8217;t  eating them a much better idea?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Christmas is definitely a great time for Chocolate and like the\u00a0<a title=\"Chocmotif\" href=\"http:\/\/www.chocmotif.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chocmotif<\/a> cards, it&#8217;s not just for Christmas.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Top page - Noexpert.co.uk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\">Return to top page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bah! Humbug! I so nearly didn&#8217;t go to the conveniently timed pre christmas Chocolate Festival in London this year&#8230; but I am so glad I did. There is such a great selection of stalls and the festival is just full of quality chocolate goods and fun ideas for Christmas presents. I had been gauging how &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/?p=21589\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Chocolate Festival &#8211; Christmas Treats!&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[384,213,7],"tags":[534,643,533,605,249,248,644,645],"class_list":["post-21589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chocolate","category-food-festivals","category-london","tag-artisan-du-chocolat","tag-chocmotif","tag-chocolate-festival","tag-duffys","tag-paul-a-young","tag-paul-wayne-gregory","tag-sven-herzog","tag-william-curley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21589"}],"version-history":[{"count":160,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21769,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21589\/revisions\/21769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}