January 27th, National Chocolate Cake Day…the perfect day for a chocolate fundraiser to benefit the Fairview Odd Fellows Home! A $20 admission ticket was all you needed to sample some of the most interesting, decadent, chocolate culinary treats by local chefs and restaurants.

Hoping to beat the crowd, my friend Christina and I planned to meet at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa right at 1:00 so we could be first in line to taste the little chocolate goodies!

As we entered the ballroom we were immediately drawn to the beautiful chocolate lion display hand carved by Executive Pastry Chef Franck Iglesias of Cake by Franck, Foxwoods Resort Casino’s new cake shop. Chef Franck shared that the lion took him three days to carve, he used sugar on the rock to get the rough texture, the bamboo was made of white chocolate, one leaf had a glass effect and the entire display was made of chocolate with the exception of the spiked grass.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, Chef Franck’s samples included Irish Cream Push-up Cake Pops, Chocolate Oreo Cream Puffs and Passion Guava “Tiger” Bonbons.

Where to go next? To the right? To the left? To the back of the room? There was chocolate everywhere! As we walked towards the back of the room we noticed a long line had formed at the Octagon at Mystic Marriott table. Could it be chocolate covered bacon? We quickly got in line and waited to our turn.

As we approached the table we could see a spaceship made of Legos displayed in the center of the table. In front were what they called “Death Stars” sitting on plates drizzled with raspberry purée. We watched as the chef poured a warm Melba sauce over the top. It was a very interesting creation that we were anxious to try and it did not disappoint! The warm Melba sauce softened the hard chocolate coating that surrounded a cream cheese, white chocolate mousse type filling. It was a light, fluffy mouthful of joy!

In the distance I could hear a beautiful voice singing my name. It was Marcy Kelly singing Elvis Costello’s “Alison” while her husband, Ian, members of the Marcy Kelly Trio, provided the acoustics. Another sweet treat for this luscious event!

Next up…chair massages offered free of charge by The Red Door Spa, as well as, a quick spin of the wheel to win discounts and spa items for your next visit to the spa. I never pass up a free massage! Abby was wonderful!

Chocolate covered chicken wings with a peanut butter jalapeño sauce drizzle? HotRods it’s no wonder you keep winning wing contests! The smooth chocolate, creamy peanut butter and spicy jalapeño was a perfect combination! Definitely one of my top 3 favorites of the day!

Chocolate and spice oh so nice! On to Chapter One‘s Chipotle Chocolate Dipped Bacon. Another great combination that if room temperature, rather than cold, could have been my in my top 3 picks of the day! Christina and I particularly liked the playful personality of the gentleman passing out the samples.

Grill 92, Fairview’s on site restaurant, shared Cinco de Chili Chocolate cupcakes (I saved mine for later) and gluten-free Raspberry White Chocolate Mousse Tarts. Grilled 92 is open to the public Thursday through Saturday 2:00-8:00. Good to know!

Denise and Sherrie, best friends, we’re having a great time at the ARC’s table where they were offering chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate cranberry cookies to the chocolate lovers that came by. They said, “This is what best friends do on a Sunday afternoon!” Surely they were having fun!

The Daniel Packer Inn‘s art display was original and represented the event…The Art of Chocolate! Their offerings included peanut butter and jelly, banana foster and raspberry truffles.

We continued to sample chocolate popcorn, raspberry truffles, hot chocolate, mocha lattes, chocolate hazelnut Linzer Tart’s and Cioccolata Calda (Italian hot chocolate) and did I mention Harbor House’s cheesecake filled strawberries dipped in chocolate?

We couldn’t leave without trying a chocolate drink of the day. We had to do a little negotiating since neither of us had much cash. Tammy and Megan were kind enough to except my offer for two drinks. I went with Death by Chocolate and Christina chose the White Chocolate Covered Cherry cocktail! Chocolate shavings in every sip was a nice addition! We ended the day with some silly photo booth fun and brought home enough chocolate to last at least a day!

The People’s Choice went to Octagon and People’s Choice Runner up was a tie between Hot Rod Cafe and Grill 92.  This is an annual event so be sure to watch for Fairview’s Art of Chocolate next January!