Chocolate week: Line up announced for London’s Chocolate Show

Chocolate Week is the UK's biggest chocolate celebration and is happening from the 13th – 19th October. From restaurants creating chocolate inspired menus to The Chocolate Show in London we'll be bringing you all things chocolate.

The line-up for this year’s Chocolate Show has been announced with Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, Hideko Kawa, Andy Blas, Executive Pastry Chef at the 5-star Hotel Cafe Royal and Francois Delaire, Head Pastry Chef at Michelin-starred L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

The event will take place 17th-19th October in London’s Olympia and will be the grand finale of Chocolate Week, which begins on the 13th.

The centrepiece of the show will be the Chocolate Theatre, featuring demonstrations of recipes by chefs, pastry chefs and chocolatiers. As mentioned above demonstrators will include Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, who will be showcasing the diversity of chocolate with an Indian spiced chocolate and venison dish, and Great British Bake Off former champions Edd Kimber and John Whaite, who will be demonstrating their takes on baking with chocolate.

Pastry chefs will also be stepping into the spotlight as 23-year old Guillaume Sanchez, considered one the best pastry chefs of his generation in France, will be presenting his first ever UK demo on the Saturday.

Also in the stage lineup are pastry chefs:

• Mourad Khiat, Head Pastry Chef at the 5-star Berkeley Hotel


• Shael Carr, Head Pastry Chef at Ham Yard Hotel


• Sarah Barber, Head Pastry Chef at ME London - (Who's planned an exiting demo)

As well as chocolatiers Paul A Young, Barry Johnson (Rococo), Aneesh Popat (The Chocolatier), Will Torrent and Marc Demarquette will be hosting demos throughout the show.

There will be plenty of places to learn about and most importantly, taste chocolate in the show’s Tasting and Academy of Chocolate Rooms, which will be hosting free talks and tastings with UK and international chocolatiers and chocolate makers. Including  Pump Street Bakery, Amelia Rope, William Curley and Cocoa Runners.

15,000 fans are expected to flock to the exhibition, which will additionally include events such as a chocolate fashion show on 16th October, featuring outfits made and inspired by chocolate, and truffle rolling workshops with the cooking school L’atelier des Chefs.

The full line up can be seen here.

By Stuart Armstrong