Scene and Be Seen
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Last Saturday night, the usually pristine Merchandise Mart was transformed into a chocolate-wonderland of decadent sweets, gourmet savory dishes by the city’s best chefs, pastry chef live demos and…. belly dancers. Oh, and hookah lounges, too. Hardly recognizable, to say the least. The Sixth Annual For the Love of Chocolate Gala welcomed over 900 guests and raised over $70,000 in scholarships to benefit the students of The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at the City Colleges of Chicago.
NBC 5's Ginger Zee
Guests were immediately greeted with beats from DJ Anachron Unfamous (who killed it, by the way) and pink drinks served by charming ladies in dresses made of lipstick-red cocktail napkins, courtesy of Red Moon Theatre. This was Cocoa Candy Land, decorated with Willy Wonka colors, populated by delightfully quirky performers, and featuring treats from BOKA, Whimsical Candy, Rare Bird Preserves, Nick’s Fishmarket & Grill, Julius Meinl, Le Flour Bakery, Marriott Hotel and Hotel Sofitel.
Just a step away was Cocoa Cuisine, packed with some of Chicago’s biggest and brightest culinary stars, including Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill, Blackbird’s Paul Kahan and Patrick Fahy, Vie’s Paul Virant, Everest’s Jean Joho, Urban Belly’s Bill Kim, the Peninsula’s Kai Lermen, and many others. Highlights were Bayless’s mini taco with lamb and cocoa nibs and Blackbirds falafel soup.
Venturing on to the Cocoa Lounge, guests were welcomed by a jazz chanteuse, Grand Marnier concoctions and sweet treats from Sweet Vee’s Laboratory and 2010 Cheeky Chick Sarah Levy of Sarah’s Pastries. Then, in my Cheeky opinion, was the highlight of the evening: Cocoa Sutra. Guests nibble on treats from the Bleeding Heart Bakery’s whiskey infused cupcakes and the Alliance Bakery’s red velvet cake nibbles (the best creation of the event), all set to an Indo-Arabic rock band accompanied by a decked out belly dancer, a red lit hookah lounge and an intimate corner boasting a line of four psychics on hand to read your palm and tell your future.
There is only one bad thing about this event: it happens once a year. Mark this one in your calendars for 2012, as it’s truly one of the best culinary events in Chicago, and they seem to outdo themselves year after year.
