The Chocolate Affair: Sweetest night in Baltimore winners

Is it possible to have a chocolate hangover?  If so you surely had one after The Chocolate Affair last Thursday, February 3, 2011! From the moment you walked you in, you felt as though you just found the golden ticket and you had just walked into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory (you know the scene with the chocolate waterfall and all the edible delights).

The entire evening was filled with sampling sweet and savory treats from over 50 of Baltimore’s best restaurants, caterers and chocolatiers. Plus auctions, dancing, live music, spa treatments and more. It all benefited Health Care for the Homeless.

The night consisted of myself and a panel of celebrity judges going from booth to booth sampling these chocolate wonders.  As a judge we had to vote in the following categories:

• Tastiest Chocolate Treat
• Tastiest Non-Chocolate Treat
• Best Candy Creation
• Best Booth Display
• Best Visual Presentation of Food
• Most Creative use of Chocolate
• Best Beverage
• Apprentice Award (vendor participating for the first time)
• Connoisseur Award (vendor participating for at least 5 years)

As you wondered from booth to booth, you were presented with a wide variety of sweets from truffles, cupcakes and chocolate bark to savory morsels with mole, lamb, bacon and more.

The winners were…

Tastiest Chocolate Treat

• The Maryland Club & Mr. Charles Market, Wine & Catering (tie)

Tastiest Non-Chocolate Treat

• House of Audré (winner)
• Miguel’s Cocina y Cantina (honorable mention)

Best Candy Creation

• Mr. Charles Market, Wine & Catering (winner)
• Pecan Yummies (honorable mention)

Best Booth Display

• Chef’s Expressions (winner)
• Cooking with Catherine Culinary Events (honorable mention)

Best Visual Presentation of Food

• The InterContinental Harbor Court Hotel (winner)
• RA Sushi (honorable mention)

Most Creative use of Chocolate

• B & O American Brasserie (winner)
• Gypsy Queen Café (honorable mention)

Best Beverage

• City Café (winner)
• Patron XO Café & Testimony Tea (tie- honorable mention)

Apprentice Award

• Clementine

Connoisseur Award

• Charles Levine Cateres

There were so many tasty delights to be tried but here aresome highlights from the night:

• B & O American Brasserie - dark chocolate cups filled with peanut butter mousse and topped with a smoked bacon and banana jam (Most Creative Use of Chocolate)
• Charles Market, Wine & Catering- a truffle that was a sweet play on a savory delight (Tastiest Chocolate Treat & Best Candy Creation)
• Chesapeake Food Works- Chocolate crab quesadilla with cocoa chili corn cream salsa
• City Café- Lollipop lamb and chocolate raspberry martini (Best Beverage)
• Clementine- chocolate-chipotle stuffed liver pate (Apprentice Award)
• Gypsy Queen Café – 3 different types of chocolate covered bacon (Most Creative Use of Chocolate honorable mention)
• Mallow Munchies- Gourmet rice crispy treats with handmade marshmallow
• The Kevin Cares Foundation- Carmel White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake
• Patchwork Catering- Chinese New Year Long Life Noodles Salad with Gunpowder Trading Company Bison
• RA Sushi- Salmon Carpaccio and Mango Lobster Roll (Best Visual Presentation of Food honorable mention)
• Savory Soup- Yellow split pea soup with white chocolate and hazelnut
• The Brewer’s Art- milk chocolate wafers with vanilla salt
• The Wine Market- Caramelized white chocolate flan with blood orange gelée and vanilla parsnip wafer

Didn’t make it this year- don’t worry get a ticket next year for the sweetness night in Baltimore that benefits Health Care for the Homeless!!!!

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