Just imagine this ... 15 or more of the area's finest restaurants, bakeries and chocolatiers setting before you their most imaginative chocolate creations, and competing to be proclaimed to be the very best ... and you're the judge! Can it get any better than this?
It was the afternoon of Sunday, February 10th, and I was at the "Chocolate to the Rescue" annual fund raising event for the benefit of the shoreline area's American Red Cross chapter. For a chocolate lover such as myself it was paradise.
What an elegant and extraordinary setting ... a ballroom overlooking Long Island Sound. Just outside the ballroom door, in the glass-enclosed foyer, was a horseshoe shaped station with glasses of pink champagne and uniformed servers encouraging you to partake. Entering the ballroom was like what I imagined it was like for Alice stepping through the looking glass into Wonderland. All around the room were beautifully decorated tables with chocolate confections and desserts, different as they could be from each other. Smiling hosts from every participating establishment greeted you as you approached their station and encouraged you to taste and see.
It was an atmosphere of excitement as we all tried and tasted and came back to our favorites for more. To cleanse our palates or wet our whistles, in addition to the pink champagne there were pitchers of ice water and carafes of freshly brewed coffees, teas, and, (now why was I surprised?) hot chocolate! Ahhhhhh...
And the winners were ...
Everyone was given a ballot when we arrived, and we were asked to cast our votes for the most creative and for our favorites. Best decorated tablescape was Tiberio's Restaurant (they offered chocolate lasagne, absolutely delicious, and hand made hazelnut truffles). Most creative was Sage Restaurant's Chocolate Sushi, made with white chocolate and rolled in dark- you had to see and taste this to believe it. The crowd favorite was the chocolate cheesecake pop by Cafe Routier. I'm happy to say that these were all among my favorites too, as are the restaurants that made them.
I did mention this was a fund raising event, didn't I? There was a silent auction for a group of very special items, and nearly 50 Gift-Bag Raffle items, including a gift certificate for a two night stay at our Tidewater Inn. There was much fun and excitement as the winning tickets were pulled from each bag.
Chocolate Lovers, mark your calendars for 2009. I have it on good authority that next year's "Chocolate to the Rescue" will most likely be sometime in January of 2009. This is such a unique event that I'll be offering a special Tidewater Inn package around it.
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