From 28 October to 1 November, 107,500 visitors attended the Salon du Chocolat Paris, 7% more than in the 2015 edition. The fair was also a success online, with a Facebook page that exceeds 95,000 fans, an Instagram account that has 13,500 followers in a few months, and a web page that received more than 32,000 visits during the month prior to its celebration.

For five days, the capital of France became a magnificent space to discover the creations of some of the big names in chocolate and pastry, as well as young talents. Among them, Frédéric Cassel, president of Relais Desserts; Benoît Castel, founder of Liberté Pâtisserie Boulangerie; Susumu Koyama, pastry chef and CEO of es KOYAMA; Angelo Musa (so good #4, so good #14), executive pastry chef at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, and Philippe Conticini, co-founder of La Pâtisserie des Rêves.

The Salon du Chocolat Junior, one of the great novelties this year, brought together 14,2000 gourmet children who enjoyed culinary challenges, baking workshops, shows and stories, chocolate make-up, … multiple taste, play, and pedagogic experiences.
An unforgettable moment because of its magic and glamor is the Chocolate Fashion Show, where one again the models walked with chocolate dresses made by fashion designers and important chocolatiers (Cameron Kham and Jean-Paul Hévin, Valérie Pache and Stéphane Bonnat , Danilo Fedrighi and Jeffrey Cagnes …). And one of the most spectacular creations, the gigantic chocokong by the artist Richard Orlinski and Le Chocolat des Français.

There were competitions of a great level. The first day was the Charles Proust Relais Desserts Competition dedicated to the theme “Craftsmanship, a French Heritage” and a jury that rewarded the creativity and savoir faire of Nicolas Riveau of Valrhona. That same day, the prestigious Le Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat awarded 2016’s iconic chocolatiers. And for the first time, the first Artisan Pastry Trophy, organized by the National Confederation of Artisan Pastry and le Journal du Pâtissier, which closed with the victory of  Anthony Le Rhun (pâtisserie C & Choux).