Three-year-old Eme Mae Matthys carefully doodled stick figures and other designs onto a plain white chef’s apron Saturday afternoon.
The Flossmoor girl was part of a crowd estimated at 1,200 who gathered to enjoy the tastes and smells of the annual Homewood Chocolate Fest.
Organizers said the fest, now in its 14th year, brings together artisans in the chocolate and confectionery crafts to offer Homewood-area residents a fun chance to break up the winter doldrums.
“Most people have cabin fever at this point,” said Allisa Opyd, special events manager for the village of Homewood. “This is a great opportunity to get together with friends and family.”
The chocolate festival has steadily grown over the years, Opyd said. They receive so many requests from vendors who want to participate that they have to turn some away.
This year, the festival hosted 14 companies, some of which aren’t local to Homewood, inside the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Auditorium, 2010 Chestnut Road.
“It’s quite a distance people travel for this,” Opyd said.
Attendees started lining up early to sample what amateur and professional dessert makers produced for the festival’s bake-off. The majority of the competitors, who can make whatever they want as long as it includes chocolate, were from the organizations taking part in the festival, Opyd said.
“This is my first year ever doing this,” said Molly Doran, head chef at The Cottage on Dixie in Homewood. She made a chocolate brownie topped by raspberry cheesecake for the bake-off.
“I do love this a lot,” Doran said.
Donations collected during the event are going to the South Suburban Humane Society, Opyd said.
Erica Oktayuren, pastry chef at La Voute Bistro in Homewood, gave a free demonstration on how to make macaroons, a small circular cake that resembles a sandwich cookie.
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Opyd said this provides attendees with an easy-to-follow method for making the French dessert.
“We love the community and these events are fantastic to meet people and see people you haven’t seen because of wintertime,” said Aimee Matthys of Flossmoor, who brought daughter Ema Mae.
The Matthys family have been to the festival in previous years and see it as a great opportunity for the children to learn about chocolate, Aimee Matthys said.
“We’re very fortunate that we have so many people that look forward to this event,” Opyd said. “They put it on their calendar as soon as we release the date.”
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter.