In 1502, Christopher Columbus took his fourth voyage to America, landed in what is now Nicaragua, and discovered that the local people used cocoa beans as currency — and that they even made a drink out of it.
On Sunday at the Courtyard by Marriott, 400 people discovered that chocolate still rules, and even sampled a couple of drinks made with it — in the form of chocolate martinis.
“Do you like chocolate martinis? It’s very good,” said Carmella Imperio of Trumbull, who was one of the hundreds who attended the Chocolate 911 fair, a fundraiser for the Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
“I’m not sure if I like the chocolate mousse better or the chocolate martini better,” said Imperio’s friend, Jackie Unger of Shelton. But it didn’t matter which was best. “This is a great idea for people who love chocolate,” Unger said.
Chocolate 911 was set to raise $7,000 for the local Red Cross, which serves people in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton.
The Red Cross sold an initial run of 300 tickets, and had to print up 100 more, said Carol Kirby, executive director of the Valley Chapter.
“The vendors come and bring sample-sized servings of something chocolate that they create. We have voting and we have awards given out,” Kirby said of the event, which is in its second year.
It wasn’t just candy. It was cakes, cookies, anything.
“lt’s all things chocolate, everything chocolate,” Kirby said. “We have chocolate soup, chocolate lasagna, chocolate sirloin steak. It’s a variety from A to Z. People will be amazed at the different things they come up with. We also have chocolate fried chicken gizzards. It’s an unbelievable combination of chocolate.”
And it’s no mistake that the event is timed a couple of weeks before St. Valentine’s Day, said John Yeager, emcee for the event.
“If I’m not mistaken Valentine’s is probably the single biggest day for chocolate sales,” Yeagere said.
Yeager announced the winners after the fair concluded at 4 p.m. and the two judges, Mike Devlin of Branford and Alex Hamman of Stafford Springs, made their decisions.
Critics Choice first place went to Four Flours. Second place belonged to Il Palio Restaurant. The People’s Choice winner for best overall presentation was Courtyard by Marriott.
The People’s Choice Awards went to Artistic Catering, first place; Il Palio Restaurant, second place; and most creative, Il Palio Restaurant.
Vendors included Liquid Lunch, Pilgrim Bar B‑Q, Il Palio Restaurant, Mayfair Health Center, Slap Your Momma Poundcake, Lord Marin, Courtyard by Marriott, Four Flours, Artistic Catering, and Dove Chocolates.
The judges agreed some of the apparently simple treats can be the most difficult to refine. The chocolate poundcake, for example, seemed like a simple recipe to make but it had loving touches that only somebody’s grandmother would know.
“Cookies, brownies and cakes are simple, but sometimes simple things are harder to make than the challenging things,” said the judge Devlin.
“Making a good chocolate chip cookie is not that easy,” he said. “We’re looking for originality.”
There were trays of chocolate cannolis and chocolate covered strawberries to last all day. Actually, chocolate covered strawberries made in the shape of a football were the most popular itme at the Mayfair Healthcare table, probably because next Sunday is the Superbowl.
“I would say these chocolate footballs are moving fast,” said Lennox Burey of Shelton, director of food services for Mayfair, based in Trumbull.
He also offered chocolate lasagna, and laughed when someone mentioned it was a calorie bomb that could blitz anybody’s diet plan.
“Well it’s something different you know,” Burey said.
