2014 World of Chocolate Gala | chicago foodie girl

12.22.2014

2014 World of Chocolate Gala

Earlier this month, I was invited to attend the World of Chocolate gala held at Chicago's Union Station in recognition of Worlds AIDS Day. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago hosts the annual fundraising event as part of a worldwide effort to increase public awareness about the epidemic. The Foundation offers programming to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as support to those living with HIV/AIDS; they also work to celebrate the progress of the HIV/AIDS community. Obviously, this one-of-a-kind event is for an extremely important cause and I was thrilled to join them for the evening.

The event pits culinarians (including some of Chicago's favorite restaurants and businesses) against each other in a head-to-head chocolate showdown. For this year's competition, twenty-two participants were challenged to create and serve their best chocolate-themed dish in order to vie for one of six awards: Best Sweet, Best Savory, Best Libation, People's Choice, Best Large Business, and Best Small Business. Needless to say, the evening was filled with so much deliciousness... from the more traditional desserts (brownies, cakes) to some surprising savory delicacies (cocoa nibs shrimp & grits), there was enough to satisfy everyone's deepest chocolate cravings.



The Great Hall at Union Station.

Rum Laced Brownies from RL Restaurant. Of course, as soon as we walked in, we gravitated straight to the boozy chocolates ;-)

Hats made of chocolate from The Peninsula

Ocoa Verrine from The Peninsula (one of my favorites of the night and winner of the Best Large Business award)

Ocoa Tarte from The Peninsula

Chocolate Hazelnut Mouse Praline Bar from the InterContinental Chicago (another one of my favorites of the night!)

Mini Old Fashioned with Candied Bacon and Chocolate Flocage from the InterContinental Chicago

Cocoa Nib Shrimp & Grits with Cranberry and Brown Butter from the InterContinental Chicago (my favorite savory dish of the night!)

Assorted Bao (chocolate, teriyaki chicken, spicy Mongolia beef, whole wheat edamame) from Wao Bao

Assorted French Caramels from Das Foods

Chorizo Stuffed Roulade of Turkey with Guajillo Spiced Squash Puree and Dark Chocolate Mole from Sophie's

White Chocolate Mint Martinis from Dove Chocolate Discoveries

 Foret Noir from Vanille Patisserie

Singing messenger cupcake from Life's Sweeter Side (winner of the Best Small Business award for their cupcakes, truffles, mousse cups)
 Riques Choco-Flan from Riques Cocina Mexicana

 Chocolate Mint Latte from Argo Tea

Chocolate Truffle Brownies from Uptown Brownie

 Strawberry Rosemary Swedish Brownies from Uptown Brownie

Joyous Almond (coconut paste, chocolate ganache, toasted almonds) from Uptown Brownie (winner of the Best Sweet award)

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shots with Housemade Irish Cream from Prasino

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Coriander Praline Marshmallows from Chocolat Uzma Sharif

 The guys from mEAT mixing up Alexander Everythings

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Walgreens

Chocolate Mascarpone Roulade from Zed451 (winner of the People's Choice award)

Assorted Caramels from Kendall College Culinary Students

The event raised more than $134,000 to support the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Interested in getting involved with the organization? You can find more information here

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2 comments

  1. Wow. That looks like an amazing time! You can never have too much chocolate! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That crab cake benedict looks to die for! XX Kat a girl & her food

    ReplyDelete

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