Balgarianovinite.com Romania’s largest chocolate festival is taking place at the National Library in Bucharest between March 13 and 15. The ninth edition of the calorie-packed sweet event is titled “Chocolate Saga – The Story That Never Ends”. It is also inspired by the martenitsa tradition associated with the coming of spring, International Women’s Day (March 8) and the upcoming Easter holiday.
Playful signs such as “Leave your diet outside. This is chocolate heaven” and “Life is short. Start with dessert” welcome visitors and lead them to the foyer of the National Library, decorated with cocoa figures.
Pralines dedicated to women, with grapefruit, ginger and white chocolate, ones with beer jelly or intense notes of red wine, and chocolate bonbons with linden blossom dedicated to Romania’s most famous poet, Mihai Eminescu, are just some of the surprises this year.
Chocolatier Catalin Ivanov commented: “Mihai Eminescu is the greatest romantic writer in Romanian literature. He loved linden trees very much. They often appear in his poems. And it occurred to me that we could pay tribute to him in this way as well. Through a special recipe, through a special flavour.”
A unique presence at the festival is the so-called “Chocolate in a Bottle” – sparkling wine made from Chardonnay grapes grown in vineyards near Perpignan, France, and natural cocoa extracts. The product has received several international awards, including the Belgium Broadway Innovation Award – People’s Choice Award (2018) and The Fizz Festival UK – People’s Choice Award (2018).
Jewellery and candles shaped like sweet treats are also on display. “They are not for eating,” Dana Nedelcu says with a smile. She makes brooches from coffee and cocoa beans shaped like ice creams and doughnuts. She began doing this during the pandemic, when she produced more than 100 brooches for charity. Today she teaches the craft to children and adults in a specially organized workshop.
Festival visitors can express their creativity by painting chocolate figurines, modelling sugar paste and decorating chocolate Easter eggs.
The public will meet Marinell Bejan, recognized as Romania’s best chocolatier and one of the world’s top 20 chocolatiers, who has also trained in Bulgaria.
Chocolate lollipops cost RON 15 (EUR 3), boxes of bonbons range between RON 35 and RON 70 (EUR 7–14), and chocolate bars cost RON 30-35 (EUR 6–7).
The festival continues until Sunday evening. The entrance ticket costs RON 25 (EUR 5), while children under 10 and people with disabilities enter free of charge.
“Despite inflation in Romania, the chocolate market continues to grow. Industry estimates show that the total market value exceeds EUR 300 million, while annual consumption amounts to 35,000 tonnes of chocolate. Each Romanian eats 2.36 kilogrammes of chocolate per year,” the organizers told BTA.
They hope to attract Bulgarian participants for future editions of the event. “We would like to make it an international festival and promote chocolate from Eastern Europe,” they said. Romania’s Largest Chocolate Festival Held in Bucharest 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-14 11:17:39 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law