My husband actually worked this event last year and was so excited to attend this year. Unfortunately the event was a huge downgrade from last year. Last year it was in a ballroom and this year was in a shopping mall. Horrible set up, super crowded and not that many stations.
We purchased the VIP tickets and got there around 7:45 to already find huge lines. Half the stations were already giving out chocolates and half were saying they weren't allowed to until 8 and turning us away.
By 8 the lines were insane and we ended up skipping several of the booths. It just wasn't worth the wait. It was a bad idea to let the chefs hand out the food themselves, as they would chit chat with people making the lines even longer and not run smoothly. You'd wait 10-15 minutes to get 1 bite of chocolate. The wines were low caliber and again you waited 10-15 minutes to get a 1 -2 sip serving.
I am a chocolate snob and had high expectations. None of the chocolates were memorable and I even spit out a few that were not good at all.
There was no signage and it was poorly organized. We ended up leaving around 9 and going to dinner instead.