It is National Chocolate Day, and what chocolate could be better than Ghirardelli? Last month I attended the 20th Annual Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival in San Francisco with Armando and even though I shared a few photos of the event on Instagram, I felt it deserved its own blog post. I was really excited about attending the festival this year because I was invited to attend as Media for the event! Armando and I arrived about an hour before the festival started to see how a chocolatier makes a chocolate ghost, to learn about the story behind Ghirardelli and their partnership with Project Open Hand. Proceeds of the ticket sales for the festival go to Project Open Hand, a non-profit that delivers nutritious meals to seniors and those that are ill.
Along with the chocolate demonstration, we were introduced to some new products and were able to take them home with us! The day was off to a great start with the chocolate we received, and before heading down to taste all the chocolate treats, I stopped by Les Mechantes in Ghirardelli Square to pick up a San Fran Cisco hoodie since it was a lot chiller than I anticipated after experiencing a hot week in the Bay Area. The hooded sweater is lined with fleece and figure flattering, so I definitely recommend picking one up for yourself! After that short shopping trip, Armando and I were ready to taste all of the chocolate.
We went through a lot of the stands early on in the day since I had plans on participating and winning the ice cream eating contest. I was selected to participate, but unfortunately I did not win. I made a lot more progress last time, even though I went in with a better strategy. It was fun, but next time I am more likely to watch or spend more time in the Wine Tasting area because I forgot just how much ice cream you have to eat along with the bananas (yuck!) Armando did record the contest, but I have not had a chance to look at it since I have been trying to forget the loss. Maybe I’ll watch next time the festival rolls around to remind myself not to compete!
Armando and I had a blast at this year’s festival, and it was great seeing a lot of different booths. I missed the tent that the wine pavilion had last year, and it felt like there were less vendors in the wine area but it also felt less crowded. We spent the whole day there, so there was plenty to do. For a recap of last year’s festival, you can check out that post here. The raspberry chocolate tarts were my favorites, but so were the mini cupcakes. Of course, picking up the Sea Salt Brownie Ghirardelli Squares were not bad either.
In case this post has you craving chocolate, you can enjoy 20% off your order at Ghirardelli with code CHOCO20. Enjoy!
Brandy