Chocolate & Pastry Show Whips Up LA Funds for Charity

Revel in gourmet dishes layered in chocolate mole sauce. Saturate yourself in chocolate cheddar cheesecake! A celestial festival will grace the city as food of the gods is dished up to mere humans the first Saturday of autumn at the Olympic Collection banquet halls in Los Angeles.

The Indulge LA Chocolate and Pastry Show will be layered with decadent delicacies as champion chefs, confectioners and pastry makers gather to offer their nut-crushed candies, chocolate parfaits, sprinkled cupcakes, frosted pastries, gourmet buttercups and just about anything chocolate the imagination can dream up.

Chocolate and champagne will flow from 1-5 p.m., with doors open to all ages for the September 24th charity event at 11301 Olympic Boulevard.

“The event benefits one of the most amazing organizations in the world,” according to an event press release. “St. Jude Children’s Hospital will receive the net proceeds for this amazing chocolate and pastry show.”

The charity gala is $20 per person, which includes all chocolate, pastries and drinks. VIP charity tickets, at $175 plus a fee of $4.49 include a gift bag, VIP entry line, an 18-ounce personalized souvenir glass, along with all chocolates, pastries, food, wines, champagnes and spirits. All-inclusive tickets have already been sold out.

If you’re hesitant, remember that chocolate is actually good for you. It has hundreds of naturally occurrring chemicals, including antioxidants which fight off bad cholesterol, according to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Even First Lady Michelle Obama, an avid health and fitness advocate, indulges in treats like tasty Triple Chocolate Enrobed Brownie Cake now and then.

Fox 11 will be there live with anchorwoman Christine Devine, who will act as master of ceremonies. Actress Sarah Leners is also pegged to host the chocolate charity event.

When not stuffing themselves with tabletop delicacies, chocolate fans can sneak a peek, taste test or offer a hand as pastry chefs, confectioners and chocolatiers whip up concoctions and decorate edible masterpieces in live demonstrations.

Award-laden chefs include: World Champion Chocolatier Jean-Marie Auboine, World Champion Pastry Chef Stepane Treand, U.S. Champion Pastry Chef, Frania Mendivil, Marcel Vigneron of the Food Network, and many more.

Gourmet espressos, champagne, wine and spirits will be available to wash down the desserts. Chocolate was first served to Westerners in wine goblets, mixed with vanilla and a taste of honey as the Aztecs greeted explorer Hernando Cortes and his men, according to the Athena Review.

An ancient teapot’s residue shows that Mayans, who referred to it as food of the goods, had been drinking chocolate more than 2,000 years before Cortes set out to conquer his Aztecan hosts, according to National Geographic Today.

Chocolate has not lost its popularity since its introduction to the New World. The United States, alone, annually consumes more than 1.5 million metric tons of chocolate products, according to Science News.

Chocolate in just about all its forms, spun from exotic and domestic recipes, will be taste-ready at the Indulge Los Angeles Chocolate & Pastry Show.

24-7 Staff, “Sarah Leners to Host the 2011 Indulge Los Angeles”, 24-7 Press Release

Yale-New Haven Staff, “Chocolate: Food of the Gods”, Yale-New Haven Hospital

Randi L. Rust, “A Brief History of Chocolate, Food of the Gods”, Athena Review

Bijal P. Trivedi, “Ancient Chocolate Found in Maya “Teapot”, National Geographic Today

Ben Harder, “Can Chocolate Fight Diabetes, Too?” Science News


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