Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry to host fourth annual Festival of Chocolate

Florida’s largest all-chocolate themed event set for Jan. 18-20, 2014.

Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) will once again host the fourth annual Festival of Chocolate on Jan. 18 – 20, 2014.

Featuring amazing chocolate indulgences, the Cocoa Couture Fashion Show and a live cake decorating competition, the event is sure to dazzle visitors.

Created by third-generation chocolatier Edgar Schaked — owner of Orlando-based Schakolad Chocolate Factory and Chocolate Kingdom —and Aileen Mand —former Walt Disney World producer and owner of Indigo Creative Productions — the festival was designed to provide chocoholics and ordinary consumers the ultimate interactive, educational chocolate experience.

The area's best chocolate and confection companies are slated to offer tastes and sell their treats of everything chocolate —from truffles, cakes and cupcakes to cookies, brownies and ice creams. Chocolate savory items, including chocolate BBQ sauce and meat rubs, also will return for those looking for an alternative to the super sweet.

Award-winning pastry chefs and chocolatiers will host interactive demonstrations, sharing techniques and tricks of the trade.

In addition, the ever-popular Cocoa Couture Fashion Show returns on Saturday, Jan. 18, featuring chocolate-wrapper fashion for the “in” crowd. And, on Sunday, Jan. 19, a live cake decorating competition will give breathtaking artistic creations a tasty twist.

Chocoholics of all ages also will get the chance to make chocolate lip balm, chocolate roses and sandy candy, and the more adventurous can try their hand at creating armpit fudge — all in the name of chocolate.

MOSI and The Festival of Chocolate are the current Guinness World Record holders for the world's largest cup of hot chocolate.

The Festival is sponsored in part by the Bank of Tampa.

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With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.