It's a melt down for winter at the Chocolate Show

(14 Oct 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4060663 LEAD IN: Tastes of bonfires and hot curry, it's the heady mix which kicks off the International Chocolate Show in London. Everything including the designer chocolate dresses and afternoon chocolate tea was on the golden theme of Autumn. STORY-LINE: This is how to be the queen of the catwalk. The bodice is made of chocolate covered nuts, the sceptre and the golden orb are 24 carat chocolate. Shakespeare's Henry IV said: "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." But there's no sign of a melt down here, although if you look closely you'll see some of the creations are reaching room temperature. And while catwalk models show no sign of getting hot under the collar, it's a well known fact that chocolate melts at body temperature. The theme of the Chocolate Show in London this year is autumn and it's reflected in the elaborate frocks on show. There's even a traditional Scottish highlander whose sabre and sporran are one hundred percent cacao, even the design of his tartan kilt is made of coloured chocolate. The fashion parade at the Chocolate Show has become an annual highlight and soon it will be touring the world. The founder and owner of the show Sylvie Douce says: "The name of the cover of the chocolate is a dress and for that reason we decided to create dresses made in chocolate." Douce believes the French passion for chocolate and fashion go hand in glove: "It's art, you know the couture fashion is art and the chocolate maker is a job of art because they are creators together and together they can make something unique." A big trend in the world of chocolate this year is a taste for the unusual. Russell Pullan of 5th Dimension Chocolates has mastered the art of surprise with his mustard, lemon chutney and curry which are designed to warm you up when it's cold outside. The curry is a new flavour this year and Pullan can't get enough of it: "It's a milk chocolate shell is this, you can see the centre of it now. I'm getting some raisons from that to start with and then you can feel the spices of the curry coming through." At this time of year it's not unexpected to see the stands dressed with a few pumpkins, but these are not one of your five a day. The Hill Street brothers Chris and Greg Smith are out to prove that when it comes to chocolate all is not as it seems, especially when it's Halloween. Here it's all being washed down with a flute of chocolate flavoured champagne. There are some interesting faces at the show this year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and her beloved corgis sit on the same stand as Benedict Cumberbatch. Now his fans can enjoy the Cumberbatch Bunny, it's being launched now for Easter. The champagne is one of the new launches at the show, as is the chocolate flavoured candy floss which is the invention from Claire Smith who founded the English chocolate house "A Little Piece of Love". At the centre is a chocolate troll, to remind you that this is the season of witches and wizards and generally unusual things. When the English head towards the winter months, they like nothing more that to indulge in a traditional 'afternoon tea' of dainty sandwiches and delicate sweets. Of course this is not the Mad Hatter's tea party from Alice in Wonderland, but chocolatier Paul A. Young and Ashley Wells an executive chef at the Intercontinental, have been concocting a surprise. Even the savouries like the roast beef sandwiches feature white chocolate horseradish cream. Blackcurrant thyme leaves, and a chocolate pod featuring cardamom ganache and cedar wood chocolate twigs. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...