For some folks, food isn't just something you eat — it's a lifestyle. Consider the items you can see and buy at the Utah Chocolate Show this weekend:
A journal with a cover that looks like a candy bar.
T-shirts labeled "Chocolate Girl"
A refrigerator magnet that says, "Forget love, I want to fall in CHOCOLATE!"
Chocolate-related cookbooks, novels, DVDs and signs
Admittedly, these novelties aren't the main draw of the show. It's the chocolate, dummy.
Chocolaholics can see displays of chocolate in its many forms — white, dark, light, bubbling out of a fountain like lava, molded into confections or coating popcorn. There's chocolate milk and organic chocolate and a chocolate-based antioxidant health drink.
And, of course, there's plenty of chocolate to buy and take home. Some of the vendors include Utah Truffles, Fernwood Candy, Colorado Kernels, Media Play, Winder Farms, Shepherd's Cake, Candy and Gifts, Liberty Heights Fresh, Lollipaper, Idle Isle Candy, Photomax Bakery and Orson Gygi.
Free demonstrations will take place throughout both days, by Grand America pastry chef Kurtis Baguley, Angel Shannon of KODJ; Cathie Mooers, culinary director of the Orson Gygi cookware store; and Anne Rencher of Shepherd's Cake and Candy in Provo.
Nine hands-on classes will be taught by local chocolatiers, ranging in price from $7 to $22. For those who don't know (cacao) beans about chocolate, Paul Albright of the Guittard Chocolate Co. will conduct a chocolate tasting and discuss what influences the finished product.
In other classes, students will learn the art of chocolate-dipping and make items such as chocolate-dipped pretzels or candy apples. For kids, there's a class where they can make a "Candyland pizza" loaded with chocolate and candy toppings; it's then packaged in a pizza box to take home. In another class, students can make a cocoa-and-brown sugar body scrub, chocolate lip gloss and chocolate soaps.
Perhaps all this sounds like overkill for a sweet treat — and one that's usually gone in 60 seconds. But for those whose mouths are just starting to water, you can find out more about the show by checking out utahchocolateshow.com.
Maybe chocolate isn't exactly your cup of cocoa, but you pride yourself on your encyclopedic knowledge of food. Well, there's a new trivia game coming out for the holidays called Foodie Craze.
I haven't seen a copy yet, but a press release calls it "a tantalizing buffet" of 400 questions. They're divided in categories such as American Classics (old brands and recipes), Innocents Abroad (international and ethnic food), Libations (wine, spirits and coffee), Celebrations (holidays and family feasts), La Technique (kitchen knowledge) and Too Many Cooks (people in food history).
I'm thinking this would be the perfect thing for people with food-snob friends who love to show off their culinary smarts. You know, the people who can name every type of mushroom found in the northern hemisphere, or every artisan cheese made in California.
Invite them all over, get out the Foodie Craze game and let them all try to one-up each other.
Meanwhile, you can polish off all the refreshments, take a snooze on the couch, and they won't even notice. The price is $29.95, and you can find out more about it at foodiecraze.com.
If you go . . .
What: Utah Chocolate Show
When: Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Where: South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State, Sandy
How much: $7.50; children under 10, free
E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com