About The Toronto Chocolate Festival

The Toronto Chocolate Festival (TCF) started in 2005 as a small selection of chocolatier-assisted events. Each year the program has been changed up with several entertaining features being introduced. Included were the Chocolicious Passport, Men In Brown Fashion Show, 911 Chocolate Relay, Dinner with the ChocElite, Wine and Beer Tasting events, the Toronto Chocolate Show, Christmas Chocolate Fair and many others.

In 2006 it kicked in as a major festival with the inaugural Chocolate Ball Gala held at the Palais Royale, where it remained for six years. This became the signature event of the annual Toronto Chocolate Festival. In 2012 it was held at Roy Thomson Hall. From 2013-2015 it was held at the Eglinton Grand. After spending a few years in Vaughan at various venues, the Ball returned to the Eglinton Grand in 2017 with a special guest of honour, Mississauga’s Mayor Hazel McCallion. In 2019 the Chocolate Ball created a media buzz when it presented Cocouture at the Eglinton Grand. It featured a chocolate fashion show where all the worn fashions were made primarily of chocolate. Many TV personalities joined in the fashion shows resulting in more than a dozen charities benefitting from the event which was the last to be held pre-covid. In 2023, after a four-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chocolate Ball returned in great fashion with the “Taste of Bridgerton” held at the Courthouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The festival has gone from a 10-day event to a 23-day and to a full month+ event and many other changes.

TCF creates and incorporates as many chocolate-related events that would be entertaining, educational and just plain fun for the attendees and the participating chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and restaurant chefs. This has resulted in several experimental and traditional events – all powered by one ingredient CHOCOLATE!

These have included THE TORONTO LUXURY CHOCOLATE SHOW, MEN IN BROWN: COCOUTURE FASHION SHOW, THE CHOCOLATE BALL, CHOCOLATE HIGH TEA, CHOCOLATE TOURS, CHOCOLATE + WINE TASTINGS, CHOCOLATE + BEER TASTINGS, THE CHOCOLICIOUS: TOUR DU CHOCOLAT” DISCOVERY PASSPORT and THE 911 CHOCOLATE RELAY.

Exclusive Events from Toronto Chocolate Festival

The Chocolate Ball had pioneered and introduced audiences to savoury foods infused with chocolate – and we’ve had everything from fish and steak to pasta and soups – all presented by well-renowned and respected chefs including Chef Massimo Capra, Chef Jonathan Gushue, Chef Terry Portand, and Chef Russell Auckbaraullee. The Chocolate Ball has reached notoriety throughout the country and worldwide as THE total chocolate event incorporating everything chocolate with entertainment and fundraising. If it doesn’t have chocolate in it – you won’t find it at the Ball! The Chocolate Ball has been featured on the Food Network’s “Sugar Stars” and the W Network’s “Undercover Boss” as well as on many news feature stories on television, radio and in newspapers.

The Toronto Luxury Chocolate Show: Introduced in 2011, this show has grown every year resulting in capacity attendance at Roy Thomson Hall, where it has been held as a one-day event for six years up until last year. Last year it was moved to a new venue in order to accommodate the show for a full weekend. The two-day show was held in the “Chocolate Salons” of the Toronto Reference Library. Chocolate vendors had the opportunity to meet up with chocolate lovers who attended to be educated and indulge in everything chocolate. The show primarily featured a Chocolate Marketplace, continuous demo presentations, Wine and Chocolate pairing sessions, and The Pitch Stage: Chocolate Stories.

The Chocolicious “tour du chocolat” discovery passport allows chocolate lovers to download coupons offering everything from discounts to free chocolate samples courtesy of participating vendors in and outside the Toronto and GTA area.

Chocolate Afternoon Tea, graciously hosted by the Omni King Edward Hotel, has become a weekend sell-out feature which has raised a considerable amount of money for our dedicated charities including Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto and The Canadian Cancer Society.

The Ultimate Chocolate Relay Challenge featuring The 911 Chocolate Relay which is a TCF original event, now being copied around the world, has become one of the fun-filled highlights of the Festival. It is messy, competitive, and hilarious as attendees watch teams of front-line workers like Police, Firefighters, and EMS go through the ultimate chocolate chow-down in a race to win the annual Chocolate Bowl and help raise money for charity. This year we go public with teams from the corporate world competing for the Chocolate Bowl and money for their favourite charities.

The Christmas Chocolate and Pastry Fair was held as a one-time pop-up event at Wychwood Barns. Positioned as a family-type event, this event borrows from the previously held Chocolate Shows by presenting an array of interactive features powered by chocolate.

About the Producer

The Toronto Chocolate Festival is produced by JCO Communications Inc. under the direction of Joey Cee, who is a recognized professional for producing highly successful festivals and events in Toronto since 1965. His portfolio includes Associate Producer of the Beaches International Jazz Festival in Toronto and Parti Gras in the Distillery District. Also, he co-produced the annual 95.3 Country Jam at Sunnyside and Woodbine Park on Canada Day, and the MIX 99.9 Labour Day Beachfest in Kew Gardens (Beaches) and at Sunnyside (for 16 years). He is the publisher of HOToronto Magazine – Toronto’s premiere entertainment digital magazines powering the Toronto On Demand website, as well as, What’s On Where International Magazines – now in its 29th year of publishing. For a detailed biography, please visit www.JoeyCee.com.

As president of the Hot Spots America Network, he also heads up the North American initiative to raise money for Food Banks across Canada and the USA through the North American HOT CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL ” HOT CHOCOLICIOUS” produced by ChocoLish Events + Entertainment. In 1998 he was inducted into the RPM Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and on September 7, 2014, he was inducted and honoured with a star on the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame. Joey was also nominated for the 2015 Laurie Pallett Award (the highest honour) by the Mississauga Arts Council at the Marty Awards ceremonies. In 2019 he created and started up the all-new Maple Music Cafe – Canadian Music History Radio – daily continuous play 24/7 radio at www.MapleMusicCafe.com.

The University of Toronto has acquired his complete archives for inclusion in the Media Commons at the Robart’s Library in Toronto. In addition, The Metalworks Recording and Entertainment Institute, a division of the world-renowned Metalworks Recording Studios in Mississauga, is home to the Joey Cee Vinyl Vault – a library of more than 20,000 LPs from his personal collection.

JCO Communications Inc. celebrates more than 40 Years as a publishing and special events company located in Mississauga with affiliates in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and London, England.

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