by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
What: Chocolates of the World Gala
When: February 8th@ 6PM-10-PM
Where: Hyatt Regency Riverfront Downtown
Chocolate isn’t better than sex, but it sure runs a close second, firing off many of the same pleasure centers in the brain as you eat it. Is it any wonder that many cultures believe that chocolate is an aphrodisiac? If you’re a Jacksonville chocolate lover, the Chocolates of the World Gala is definitely something you should mark on your calendar. Any existing appointments can wait for the love and lust of glorious chocolate. It’s also a lovely idea for an early Valentine’s Day, and since it’s being held at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Downtown, you can always get a room there to cap off the evening of chocolately decadence.
It’s not surprising that this event, held by the International Visitor Corps of Jacksonville (IVCJ), has been sold out in the past. If you want to indulge yourself, now is the time to reserve tickets. It’s become a sought-after event in the Jax social scene.
Chocolates of the World brings top chefs together to create culinary art using chocolate as the main ingredient. This year’s chefs include Tony Pels, Mezza Luna Restaurant; Marcus Shivel, The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island; David Ramirez, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort (Orlando); Carlos Feldman, Hyatt Regency Downtown Jacksonville; Jean-Cristophe Setin, San Jose Country Club and Elizabeth Hancock, Sawgrass Marriott Resort.
Jacksonville City Council President, Michael Corrigan, is honorary chair for the evening, which also includes entertainment, international cuisine and wines, and a silent auction. As the highlight of the evening, guests can taste an assortment of distinctive, sumptuous chocolate desserts created by these award-winning pastry chefs and chocolate artists. Attendees judge the desserts and choose the winning chef.
Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $100, and corporate tables of 8 are available for $850. For event information please visit www.ivcjax.com or call (904)346.3942.
Proceeds benefit programs to advance international understanding conducted by the IVCJ, a member of the National Council of International Visitors, a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. IVCJ’s mission is to promote multicultural awareness and understanding between people of other nations and the United States by assisting the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and other international exchange programs for business and professional leaders. Recent guests have come from 63 countries representing every continent and region of the world; from South Africa to Zimbabwe and Ghana, from Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Russia, Italy and Sweden, from Thailand, Indonesia, China and Japan, from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria, from Mexico and Canada, and from Argentina and Brazil.
The International Visitor Corps of Jacksonville was founded in 1990 as the International Resource Center of Jacksonville. The name was changed to International Visitor Corps of Jacksonville (IVCJ) in 2004 in order to better reflect our core activity of hosting professional visitors and emerging leaders from all over the world. Since its founding, IVCJ has hosted more than 1,000 emerging leaders and professionals from over 80 countries, allowing them to experience firsthand the way Americans live, the way they conduct business, and the way they deal with the political, cultural, and social problems of today’s shrinking world.
My best chocolate memory is sitting next to the kitchen table watching my mother prepare “Mousse au chocolat”(chocolate mousse). I was maybe 8 years old and already fascinated by the process of turning raw ingredients into a soul-satisfying product (we all know how bad you can crave chocolate and how good it feels when you eat something so rich). I would ask to lick the pot where the chocolate was melted. The smell of chocolate would remain in the house for days.
Jean Christophe Setin, San Jose Country Club, Jacksonville
My favorite chocolate memory is with my aunt. She would have those giant chocolate bars and come by our house with them when I was a child. I would have to give her a big kiss for the chocolate, but I didn’t mind. It was worth it!
David Ramirez, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando
Growing up in San Diego, my family made yearly visits to Disneyland where my sister and I had to go into the candy shoppes for fudge, then we immediately sat down to share our indulgence.
Elizabeth Hancock, Pastry Chef, Marriott of Sawgrass
Dutch chocolate, I guess, is my first love to chocolate. Both my parents are Dutch…We used to get chocolate letters for St. Nicolas Day, Christmas in Holland.
Tony Pels, Mezza Luna, Neptune Beach
First, I must say I do love chocolate, but I have always been a cookie man! I really don’t care what kind it is if it has the word “cookie” in it I love it. The first chocolate memory, I would have to say, as a young boy I always looked forward to the giant chocolate Easter bunny that I would get on Easter, the one that, when you were a kid, seemed like the biggest piece of chocolate you have ever seen, and then try to eat the whole thing. Now being in the industry for almost 12 years and having the opportunity to work with many different types of chocolate, I have grown a much more appreciated outlook on chocolate from the sugar-based chocolate bunny that I remember as a young boy.
Marcus Shively, The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island
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