Bordeaux - Fete le Chocolat! - Delicious & Fun!

It's that time of year again - Bordeaux Fete le Chocolat!!

This was the 2nd annual event and it was just as fun and interesting as last year! This year it was held at the Jardin Botanique in the Bastide section of Bordeaux.  This free event was again a mixture of Chocolate merchants - expert Chocolatiers - selling their wonderful and decadent creations, demonstrations in Chocolate decorating, Children's workshops, tastings and of course, A Chocolate Sculpture Contest in the theme of Aviation.

Unlike last year where the Sculpture exhibit and the Chocolate merchants were in separate buildings - this year they shared the space inside the exhibition area of the Jardin Botanique and all visitors also got to tour the greenhouse exhibits inside the building.  This exhibit was additionally tailored to understanding how the cocoa bean is grown, harvested & eventually made into chocolate.  This was a fun addition to the festival!

My middle daughter & friend wandering through the greenhouse part of the Jardin Botanique

Nice addition this year - to understand more about chocolate and how it's made!

Enjoying the plants

The creations this year were just as interesting as last year - Very unique and fun!!  Loved the different takes on the theme!

Loved this Hot Air Balloon

Very creative!

Everyone had their own interpretation

This one was definitely colorful and very interesting!

I asked my youngest daughter which one was her favorite - Hands down - she ran over to this one!  I think it's ironic that this young American/French girl liked the one that represented the first transatlantic flight between Paris & New York in 1927!  

The different vendors were excellent about explaining their creations and handed out many samples for visitors to try.  It was also neat to watch the chocolate demonstrations.  There were even workshops for the kids to learn about decorating with chocolate and molding their own creations.  Unfortunately, the slots were all reserved for this particular afternoon, so my kids just enjoyed watching and sampling instead.  I definitely recommend this event for the whole family and if you have kids - go early and sign up - they will have a blast!!

Molding eggs together

Dark chocolate drizzled over strawberries & bananas!  Yummy!

The Chocolate fountain with fruit was a big hit with many visitors.  For 1.50 euros - delicious & inexpensive!! This event was held this whole weekend Thursday through Sunday.  We, unfortunately, went at peak hours on Saturday afternoon - you can see here - there was a line to enter the exhibit.  So I recommend going in the mornings, unless you don't mind waiting.  For us - we waited about 45 minutes to enter the exhibit - but truthfully - we enjoyed every minute of it!!  Even the kids, despite the wait enjoyed all the tastings and the greenhouse exhibit inside!  It seemed like it was so successful this year, that they might need to look for an even bigger location next year! We will definitely be returning  - it was a delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon!  Thank you - Fete Le Chocolat!!

At Le Jardin Botanique - waiting to enter Fete Le Chocolat!