What exactly happened to February is a bit of a mystery.  It somehow passed by in the blink of an eye, lost in a flurry of deadlines, diapers and a whole lot of chocolate.  (Not complaining at all.)  And now here we are in March, which in Zürich is a confusing ping pong game of long gray wintery days and rejuvenating sunny spring ones.  Whatever the weather, March is a time to indulge.  In chocolate, that is.  It’s time for Zürich’s second annual Salon du Chocolat, March 22-24 at the Messe in Oerlikon.  Who’s ready ?!

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Whether you’re reading this in Zürich, Brugge, New York or Dubrovnik, I think we can all agree… the weather has been anything but predictable lately.  We may have thought spring was on its way over here in Switzerland, but that quickly turned to cold temperatures, wind and rain once again.  Where to go for a burst of color when it’s nothing but grey outside ?  To the market, of course !

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I’m still smiling from all the excitement of Switzerland’s first Salon du Chocolat (could also be the sugar).  Well over 15,000 people visited this chocolate extravaganza in Zürich during the last weekend in March.  They gazed with open mouths and cameras in hand at dresses made of real chocolate; they tasted exotic flavored ganaches and strawberries dipped in a chocolate fountain; they watched pastry chefs plate sophisticated desserts before their eyes – that ended up in their stomachs thereafter; they listened to experts explain the subtleties of pairing chocolate with wine, whisky or even just water; and they discovered chocolate companies from around the country that they may not have heard of before.  For three days, it was a treat for all the senses.

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I announced the exciting sweet news back in November of last year, when I began working with the Salon du Chocolat team in Paris to bring the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate to Switzerland for the first time.  And now, the big moment is nearly upon us !  Chocolatiers, pastry chefs and industry professionals are all fine tuning the details of their chocolate assortments, boxes, bunnies, recipes, conferences and more.  And as promised, a little preview of who and what you’ll see at the show this coming weekend, from March 30th to April 1st.

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I’m normally at the Bürkliplatz market every Tuesday and Friday morning. And busy playing in the kitchen trying a new dessert recipe or photographing my latest chocolate tastings. But not when I have a rather critical deadline for a huge project that demands my every minute. I have had the pleasure of working on a very sweet project for the past two months – one that I’ll certainly share here later. Aside from a quick break to see the Burning of the Böögg, I?ve been mostly at my desk. But for now, with most of the work behind me, it was time to step away from my computer and enjoy the beginning of spring in Zürich.

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