For those of you who love sweets other than chocolate, today's post is for you
and chocoholics can reread my previous post:)
Believe it or not these flowers are made of candy!
These pâtes de fruits are like very dense jello/gummies which are as close to eating fruit as candy can possibly taste.
Even though this was a chocolate centered event, vanilla was available at several stands.
I saw several sweets I've never seen before, like Chardons, which are liquor filled candies
available in various colors to differentiate it from other flavors.
Guimauve is the French version of marshmallow, but they are flavored and colored accordingly. The big difference between this and anything that you would buy in a US supermarket is these are made FRESH, they have a very soft tender texture, and they have flavors unlike anything I've ever seen in the US, like passion fruit and lavender!
There were vendors with beautiful souk like displays of spices and teas from around the world.
Some chocolates were so colorful that they looked like jewels; this display was at one of the Japanese vendors who came to showcase their talents in Paris.
Nougat is a beloved sweet, and huge wheels of various flavors could be sliced by weight to be taken home to share (or not).
Dried fruit from goji to papaya were also available by weight.
Sweets from Morocco and made with almonds and almond paste reminded Parisians of warm holidays spent in a popular vacation destination.
Spiced bread, some made with salted caramel, offered a different take on "dessert".
Marzipan also made an appearance in many shapes and flavors.
A live demonstration on how to make a proper chocolate mousse was held onstage by Ferrandi.
On another stage musicians performed,
and afterwards, awards were given to various chocolatiers for their delicious work.
Future chocolatiers and confiseurs got lessons with hands on experience.
Master sculptors competed with ice art.
Not everything sold was completely edible; these flavored lipsticks were made to be shared with kisses :)
Jewelry in the shape of macarons, cupcakes, and other sweets, meant to be worn rather than eaten.
Some stands had servers in costume.
Other stands served wine
or champagne that would compliment sweets.
There was also an educational display with examples (not edible) of the various sweets and the history of how they are made.
The most impressive display was this huge cake made of candy.
I'm sure at the end of the exposition, they have to remove all the stands; does anyone else want to volunteer to help clean up by eating the displays?
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