Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon

I have been attending since it started in Pasadena. Only time we didn’t go was when they had it in Sta. Monica. We’ve always enjoyed it & have become big fans of some of the chocolate companies (Marti Chocolate, The Toffee Box, Amella Caramels). However this year we noticed that compared to the past years (‘specially when it just started), there weren’t lot of vendors & it actually seems to be the case every year. It’s gotten smaller & smaller. We have gotten discount tickets & even it felt like it wasn’t worth it. Some stalls still give out good size samples but most give tiny samples you cannot possibly make a decision on 1 taste alone =(
Overall this year was disappointing & we are seriously considering not attending next years event.

I have been attending this even since the beginning… I loved all the samples and got introduced to so many delicious chocolatiers. Amano is typically a favorite or mine… an award-​winner in many taste tests, too
What I have enjoyed in recent visits is how there is an increase in more sustainable chocolate offerings alongside the standard favorites. The artistry often displayed in each artisan’s sweet treats is something I really enjoy. Plus, there are a greater variety of edible offerings like olive and vinegars and an adult section of chocolatey alcoholic beverages… fun :)
I hope the vendors continue their generous samplings as I have noticed some are offering just a few limited choices to attendees. If so, the ticket price is worth the fun and bit of a buzz you cannot help but get with all the sugar!

I attended this chocolate salon last Saturday with my husband (tickets are $ 30 each this year) at the Pasadena Convention Center. We parked a few blocks away and paid $ 4 for all day parking.
I was rather disappointed with this event, even though I had already had a heads up on the Unilocal reviews here (thank you Unilocalers for your honest opinions!) and the overall rating of this event (2.5 stars at the time of this review), but I still had to see the event for myself (and my husband wanted to get tickets for this).
The event was rather on the small size and did a poor job of strategically placing vendors too closely together, forming an incredibly huge line. This was a huge problem for some vendors who had no lines, but it appeared to have because of the long lines for vendors near them. But once my husband figured this out, he just went right up to some of the vendors to get samples of whatever chocolate related food item they were giving out. All of the samples given from each vendor was incredibly small (Costco size samples are bigger than this). However, Mignon Chocolate were giving out regular size pieces though, which was nice. But one of the employees working this table was not very nice at all. She gave attitude and was rather rude when I asked to get a sample. But this one male employee was cool about giving both my husband 2 samples each to try. I am not surprise by the behavior of the female employee’s rude behavior though because I was ignored when I walked into Mignon Chocolate’s store in Pasadena before.
There were only 2 vendors providing alcohol. One was a chocolate flavored tequila and another one was serving a chocolate flavored vodka. The gentleman who was serving the tequila was very nice and was more than happy to give a larger sample if we wanted. I thought the tequila tasted interesting, but wasn’t exactly my thing. The vodka was actually flowing in one of those chocolate fountains at the vendor’s table, but it kept clogging up… and I wasn’t a big fan of the taste either (Although there was plenty that you could drink). There was also 2 vendors that were selling chocolate scented fragrances that I wasn’t interested in (honestly, I rather be eating chocolate than smelling like it).
We arrived at the event by 11:15 am and although there were some people, there really wasn’t too bad of a line to wait. But by 11:45 am, it was pretty crowded and the lines were just really long. We ended up leaving after being there for almost 90 minutes and by then, there were a few vendors that had already ran out of some of their samples. I actually brought a contain in my bag and placed most of my samples in it because I did not want to get sick just eating nothing but chocolate (I had not had lunch yet and breakfast was a few hours before).
Overall, the event was just about 2 stars, «Meh. I’ve experienced better» which is a true story. I had gone to a chocolate salon type of event in LA a few years ago that benefited St. Jude Foundation and was very generous in providing chocolate and wine samples. But of course tickets were $ 50 – 85 though (you get what you pay for right?). I definitely do not see myself coming back here again.

In a word… LAME! It was small, not a lot of vendors, and looked like it was organized and set that same day. Total amateur hour (which is about as long as we could stand staying there). Long lines for tiny pieces of chocolate to sample. We could have hit a bunch of chocolate shops and had samples in the same time frame and for far less than it cost us for the tickets and to park. There was a tequila vendor there (which we actually really like), and a guy who was famous for his potato salad, so… why were they at a chocolate convention? This was our first year, and I got our tickets through Groupon (so it wasn’t too expensive), but I’m guessing that it’s going downhill and vendors are pulling out as the years go on. I couldn’t believe this was the «8^th annual». I expected many more vendors and attendees as well as a better/​bigger floor space.

Hmm… was this worth my time, money, and energy? I’m still deciding.
Someone said «chocolate festival» and I jumped on it. I missed the details about «artisan chocolate», «samples», and most of all ridiculous payment for a small bite.
There were literally a couple of handfuls of vendors, from chocolatiers, to (chocolate) wines, and some other confectioneries. My favs: a vendor who had very circular pretty truffles whose bite was a literal shot glass (I had merlot and Kahlua), Dove’s chocolate martini and chocolate salsa, another artisan whose layered flavors overwhelmed my mouth – in a good way, and the chocolate toffee, which I not only gave the prize to, but gave them $ 50 of my money because I couldn’t tear myself away.
Parking free under the Paseo Shopping Center, entrance at $ 25, I’m just not sure it was worth it all.

I’m not sure what happened to this event. but seems like each year, it gets worse and worse.
Two years ago, it was an amazing experience. Lots of vendors, giving out business cards and discounts, and generously handing out whole pieces of chocolates. They had lots of local specialty chocolate vendors, toffee vendors, and wine vendors.
Last year, it was in Santa Monica, and had fewer vendors. The venue was horrible and parking was hard to find.
This year, there were even fewer vendors and less samples at the Pasadena Convention Center. Parking was $ 10 and there was basically nothing that sparked my interest.
I don’t think I will be coming back again. I would be happier just going to an actual chocolate shop and purchasing chocolate there.
Not worth the $ 20 – 30 admission fee to get in anymore. Very disappointed.

The problem with reviewing this yearly event is that it is highly variable from year to year. Back in 2009 and 2010, it was indeed a 4 – 5 star event. They had plenty of samples, plenty of vendors a good variation of both, and it was well organized.
In 2011 it was worth half a star. It’s likely that the vendors have to supply all of their sample for free, maybe even paying the organizer for their space. The only company making money from this event is the chocolate salon organizer and the venue. And the organizer– though they were good at marketing themselves all over LA and the internets — did a crappy job of running the event. Who cares if the event isn’t professional in any way? We got 2 thousand suckers to pony up cash, many in advance, because… chocolate!
It’s likely that most of the small companies who are represented are not making enough money from giving away thousands of dollars of samples for the day. So each year there are fewer vendors (there’s always a new sucker in town though, so new vendors tend to get roped into doing this at least once) and the samples are smaller.
The latest incarnation is pathetic. There is no support for the vendors, no one organizing lines, no easy water to find (unless you want to buy it), it’s utter, greedy chaos. I saw one rep on the floor the entire time, and all they did was point to the toilets. Vermeer (a silky chocolate liqueur) is already established, so unfortunately it’s no longer got a dynamic booth offering fun schwag (clocks, timers, watches, and great samples) and a great sales pitch.
And the poor vendors are so swamped that they barely had time to talk about their product.
The ‘lectures’ were terrible. Not because the speakers were bad, but because they were not given a separate room or a good audio system. They were hard to hear, there was little/​no space to sit, and they had trouble hearing questions from the meager few who took a moment from the lines to listen.
We got there early, before all the good samples were picked over. We got to see and appreciate all the hard work they put into the displays, and for a brief moment it was a fun, elegant event. As the raging crowd increased in size, the vendors started cutting the samples into smaller and smaller pieces, trying to have enough for everyone before they ran out.
Sure there were some good ‘show deals’ if you wanted to buy chocolate there. And if you waved money they were more attentive. But you had to stand in line before finding out what the deals were (and if the chocolate was worth it), and the chaotic afternoon was not worth 20 bucks a head.
Parking suggestion: Save yourself 10 bucks n’ just park on the street a half block away (in any direction).