The Paris-based chocolate festival, Salon du Chocolat 2018, is celebrating its 16th anniversary with a record-breaking lineup of 108 brands. The press preview, held on the evening of January 19th at the Shinjuku NS Building, featured greetings from the organizers and chefs visiting Japan, who appeared on the stage via escalators. Approximately 60 chefs will be available to meet at the venue throughout the event, and the annual queues of fans clamoring for autographs are a popular attraction.


The chefs took to the stage inside the venue. Some people were photographing the chefs and reporters gathered from the stage.



Maleene Couchans, a Belgian chocolate assortment that is making its first appearance in Japan, comes in a pack of six and costs 2,972 yen including tax.

The venue will also feature a selection of chocolate-based takeout menu items, including soft serve ice cream and baguettes. At Henri Le Roux, you can add soft serve ice cream as a topping to your Fondant Caramel C.B.S. (432 yen including tax), for an additional 216 yen, only at the Tokyo venue. Laurent & Kyoko Duchesne will be selling their popular "Eclair Chocolat" at their Paris store, while Frédéric Cassel will be selling their special mille-feuille "Mille-feuille Finger XIBUN" made with the rare cacao XIBUN. Both will be sold in a special box.


Henri Leroux's "Fondant Caramel C.B.S." can be topped with caramel soft serve ice cream, exclusively at the Tokyo venue.

To reduce crowding and wait times at the Tokyo venue, advance purchase of time-specific admission tickets is required through the digital ticket service. Tickets cost ¥648 (tax included) and include a Salon du Chocolat 2018 catalog.