Food - The land of sweetness

Gap-fill exercise

Put the relative sentences back in the text

   an artist who has won fame in New York      which pays homage to the “food of gods”      which seems to be among the most efficient remedies against stress      which will culminate with the best pastry-chef of the year award      who runs a family business in Terrassa      whose choice is always dark chocolate   

The Land of sweetness

BARCELONA CELEBRATES THE 2ND SALÓ DE LA XOCOLATA, THE TEMPLE OF CHOCOLATE CONSUMPTION

Marcela Topor

Mmmm... is once again the motto of this year’s Saló de la xocolata: literally, the sweetest festival of the year, when choco-addicts are invited to abandon themselves to four days of chocolate indulgence, from October 19-22. Just as last year, and following the example of New York, Tokyo and Paris, Barcelona has decided to live up to its reputation as the gateway of chocolate to Europe,a nd introduce the annual Saló de la Xocolata, the only festival in Spain (the literal meaning of the word referring to the cocoa plant).

If last year, the first Saló de la Xocolata, organised by the Escola del Gremi de Pastisseria (Catalan Pastry Association), the Museu de la Xocolata and the Fundació del Instituto del Cacao y el Chocolate (ICC), drew 35,000 people, then this year the most modest expectations indicate at least 50,000 choco-lovers will attend. According to organisers, the venue of the CCIB, at the Forum site, has been amplified in order to host as many adepts as possible and, most importantly, to prevent the endless queues that visitors had to endure last year.

Joan Turull, the president of the Saló, highlighted a few novelties talking with Catalonia Today, including the young pastissers championship .

More eccentric visitors will be able to have their portrait painted in chocolate by Sid Chidiac, .

Juan Mari Arzak, one of the most renowned chefs in Spain and owner of three Michelin stars, will offer chocolate demonstrations, together with Carlos Mampel from the Pastisseria Bubó, Ramón Freixa from the Restaurant Can freixa, David Molina from Cal Molina restaurant. Meanwhile, the Mercats de Barcelona will show that chocolate is not only used for dessert, but can be used to give more flavour to chicken, snails or rabbit. And connoisseurs largely agree that there’s nothing better to wash them down than a glass of cava. Just like coffee, chocolate has its purists as well, . “Here in Catalonia we have a taste for pure dark chocolate and we also use more nuts”, says Mr. Turull, a pastry-maker himself, . However, at the Saló you can treat yourself to chocolate for all tastes: praliné, with milk, white, with fruit, truffles, chocolate fountains, and you can even have a chocolate massage, .