Marla is the winner, but keep an eye out in your e-mail boxes because there might be a special deal waiting for some of you!
Every year we look forward to a massive event that helps us get through winter. No, we’re not talking about football: we’re talking about the Chocolate, Dessert & Wine Lover’s Evening! This year is the 8th year . . . and it will definitely prove to be even better than the rest!
The action is going down on February 4 from 6-9 at the Stamford Marriot Hotel & Spa with all proceeds going directly to Shelter for the Homeless. There will be over 70 different dessert, chocolate, food, and adult drink vendors on hand to help ya warm up. In addition, there will be entertainment and tips from host Chef Plum, music, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes, and even chances to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts for your precious little love. Tickets are $45 per person or $80 if you buy them in pairs: perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat.
If funds are a bit tight this year, but you still want to take your lovey dovey to somewhere nice, we have your chance to win two free tickets. All you need to do is tell us what your plan of attack is. The contest begins now and goes until Thursday (1/21) at 5 pm when we’ll announce a winner.
Do you start with the food, move to the baked goods, then move to desserts?
Do you start with wine, then go to food, then do desserts?
Or, do you . . . well, let us know: how do you plan to check out all 70 vendors?
For a sneak peek, check out just some of the restaurants, bakeries, and businesses who will be on hand:
Restaurants
- Bar BQ
- Kona Grill
- McFadden’s
- Olio
- Ten Twenty Post (Darien)
Beverages
- BevMax
- Crazy Grapes
- Drinx Unlimited
- Shearwater Organic Coffee Roasters
- Somrus Indian Cream Liqueur
- Stamford Wine and Liquor
Sweets
- aux delices
- A Chef’s Choice
- Alina’s Patisserie
- Bad Louie’s Fudge
- Cupcakes for a Cause
- Cutco at Home
- DiMare Pastry Shop & Café
- Le Rouge Chocolates & Cakes by Aarti
- Lincoln Culinary Institute
- Longford’s Ice Cream
- Stamford Marriott
- Sweet Pea’s Baking Company
- Tschudin Chocolates
- Whipped Up
Boutique
- AprilMarin
- J. Hilburn Menswear
- JEWELRY 4 LESS
- Melina’s Bowtique
- Northeast Nutmeg
- Plum Gems
- Savour the Seas Travel
- Sunshine gifts
- Touchstone Crystal by Swarovski
- Vasiliki Lagis Handbags
- Sophistication Is Overrated
Dan and Kristien Del Ferraro
OmNomCT 
I love events like this! When I go to events like this I like to do my rematch before hand and see what restaurants will be there and create a little list of myself about my “must hit up first list”. But then when I get there I get so excited that I forget my well thought out plans, lol. And just go for everything I can get! An of course grab some wine or cocktail as soon as i get in. After the initial rush of excitement I more throughly make my way through the restaurants.
I will def go for the sweets and desserts first! It is Valentine’s Day after all! :)
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The first thing I would do is grab a glass of cabernet and walk around to scope out all of the vendors. I would spend most of my time looking at the food and trying to remember what looked and tatsed the best to pick out which restaurants I want to visit next! I would have to keep going back to the wine whenever my glass became empty and inbetween filling up my glass I would try to save room for dessert, so that I could taste as much as I could because nothing is better than pairing chocolate and wine!
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For me, I go right to the drinks and then straight to the food, leaving the sweets for last. Of course in between all of the food, I have to make time to stop and refill my drink. The goal is to know what to look for and attack that first! If I don’t care for a cheeseburger slider, why waste time stopping there?!?! Gotta be fast and smart!
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Hello. Glad to be here. When I attend a cool event like this I like to roll with the experts. You have to find the right person to roll with. I like to think that I am an expert myself :) The only way to find out and discover good chocolate and wine combinations is by trial and error. (Somebody’s got to do it, right?) If you get the right wine to complement the right chocolate it can be a match made in heaven! Learning how to appreciate the flavors that both wine and chocolate have, as well as being able to pair them well, is a most enjoyable hobby. So I would start with the wine and browse around. Sip here and there and let the fun begin with chocolate!!!!
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I love to grab a glass of wine or cocktail first. Then I make one trip around to see all of the options. Once I get a good look at everything there is to indulge in, I jump into everything! I am always trying to scope out a new product or interesting flavor combination.
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When I go to events like this, I like to mark out places I’m interested in trying. Then I go and take a browse around at the event. Like Andrew Zimmerman says; if it looks good, eat it. There’s really no rhyme of reason to the method I choose.
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We dig how you roll!
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