Switzerland/Record Turnout at the Neuchâtel Chocolate Festival

This year’s Chocolatissimo, Neuchâtel’s chocolate festival, was a huge success. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people enjoyed the activities, tours, and tastings, as well as the traditional chocolate-making contest for apprentices at the Neuchâtel Vocational Training Center (CPNE).

Between 10,000 and 12,000 food lovers attended the 13th edition of the Chocolatissimo festival in Neuchâtel, a record turnout. This year, the event celebrated Suchard’s bicentennial.

Nostalgia, the brand’s unique world, and its iconic products gave this year’s festival—which opened on October 30—a particularly symbolic significance, organizers said Saturday.

Two hundred “Golden Tickets” were hidden among the chocolate bars created especially for the event. They allowed winners to receive one of 200 “Carrés de Choc d’Or,” created by artist Gehod to mark Suchard’s 200th anniversary. This activity was inspired by the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

A variety of activities were offered, ranging from guided tours of Suchard’s heritage sites to children’s workshops, as well as a theatrical breakfast and Mauler & chocolate tastings. In total, more than 120 kg of chocolate were sampled in the peristyle of City Hall, and 9,300 cookies were handed out at the chocolate fountain.

As it does every year, Chocolatissimo held a contest for the best chocolate creations made by apprentices. Thirty-three students from the Neuchâtel Vocational Training Center (CPNE) presented decorative chocolate displays inspired by Suchard’s imagery and other iconic brands such as Sugus and Milka.

The Suchard anniversary celebrations continue through November 30.

Source: www.lenouvelliste.ch/