The Beirut Cooking Festival and the Salon du Chocolat Beirut return to BIEL from 16-18 November for their seventh and fourth editions respectively. The shows welcome chefs, experts and professionals, who will share their passion for food, drink and lifestyle with more than 15,000 visitors over the course of three days.

At the Beirut Cooking Festival visitors will be able to discover a whole range of items, from bigger brands to artisanal goods, and browse more than 100 stands showcasing the best in food, wine, spirits, kitchen equipment and more.

In addition to that, 20 of the finest chefs will be present to share with the public their passion for food through a series of live demonstrations and workshops at the Chefs’ Theater. The chefs will prepare an assortment of exciting dishes from Lebanese favorites to gourmet international dishes.

The Librairie Gourmande will bring a selection of cookbooks to browse through and buy at the Librairie Antoine. There will also be book signings by famous authors during the event.

The Taste Lebanon food court will also be available for festival goers to enjoy a bite from around 20 vendors serving international and Lebanese fare.

Taking place concurrently, the Salon Du Chocolat Beirut will host over 60 stands showcasing the latest in chocolate, pastry and confectionery

For this year’s edition, the Salon du Chocolat is welcoming acclaimed Lebanese artist, sculptor and poet Rudy Rahme and Chef Charles Azar at a very special event. The duo will be unveiling a unique chocolate sculpture created especially for the show, which will be on display throughout the festival. The impressive art piece Fire Dance (when women dance in the fire there are flames of eternal movement the alphabet flows like the taste of love … and suddenly freezes!) will be on display throughout the festival for visitors to view. Rahme and Azar will oversee the Chocolate Sculpture Competition where more than 10 students from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (Alba) will go head-to-head in a competition to sculpt the most impressive work of art from a block of chocolate. The theme of the competition is ‘Musical Ear’. The final pieces will be displayed throughout the remaining days of the show

The Fashion Show, which is an annual meeting point for both culinary and fashion experts will bring this year a total of 13 chocolate dresses to the runway. This year’s show, which takes place under the theme ‘Winter Wonderland’, welcomes designer Jean Louis Sabaji, who will be collaborating with Lebanese master consultant chef Charles Azar to create the Fashion Show’s masterpiece.

20 of the country’s top pastry chefs will host a series of demonstrations and live workshops at the Choco Demo, where visitors will be able to learn how to recreate delicious pastry items.

A special tasting area for children will be available at the show where kids will learn about food through hands-on activities.

On another level, talented home cooks and foodies will showcase their talent in decorating ‘Winter Wonderland’ inspired cakes live at the Taste & Flavors stand. A jury of pastry professionals will be awarding the most skilled decorator with a special prize.

Joumana Dammous-Salame, managing director of Hospitality Services and event organizer said: “This is a true celebration of the richest flavors and latest cookery trends. Food is at the heart of Lebanese culture and we are honored to host an event of this magnitude to unite those that share a passion for gastronomy, while elevating the profile of Lebanon as a center for culinary excellence.” Salame added: “There are many new things taking place at the Salon du Chocolat Beirut this year which will be exciting for our visitors to witness. Being the only event of its kind, we are thrilled to bring a world of chocolate back to the capital.