Chocolicious Fun in San Francisco

A sweet few hours were spent elbowing children, pregnant women, connoisseurs and other thousands wanting to get the most for their $25 tickets at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon today at Fort Mason. Met up with Dizzy D (Andrew Rogers) and we tag-teamed on interviewing and photographing some characters there.

We are hoping to publish a story, so I won't give it all away here. However, a few photos of the folks we met today I'll let you peak at below.

I was most impressed with two sisters, one the baker and the other the entrepreneur, who stand behind Socola (Vietnamese for chocolate).

Cookbook author Barbara Passino (Chocolate for Breakfast) opened our eyes to the politics of wine and chocolate pairings while hovering over the table for Omnivore Books on Food.

Jack Epstein, purveyor of decorated boxes and other people's chocolates ("they have a synergy," he told us more than once), runs a Noe Valley shop called Chocolates Covered.

Back in my 'hood, turns out there is a chocolatier (which is not a chocolate maker; go to wiki if you want to know the difference) artisan and teacher named Philippe Lewis who sells truffles in Berkeley at Edible Love.

There were even young things painted in chocolate - not selling themselves but their cacao body frosting made by Chocoholics Divine Desserts.
And, lest I forget, the very tasty shots of Vermeer dutch chocolate cream liqueur. A number of us were caught licking the sides of the tumblers to get every last drop as we walked away, forlorn. While others looked perplexed at the idea of chocolate makeup...