It’s not every day you get a chance to visit Barry Callebaut’s Chicago Chocolate Academy — and when you do, you jump on it.

When I read the headline in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune that Mars Wrigley Confectionery was going to base its U.S. headquarters in Hackettstown and Newark, N.J., I was — to put it mildly — devastated.

On July 1, consumers living in Cook County, a good chunk of Chicagoland, were greeted with a new tax, one that slapped a penny surcharge on every ounce of sweetened beverage, which included items such as soda, sports drinks, flavored water, energy drinks, pre-made sweetened coffee and tea with less than 50 percent milk content, among others.

There’s something magical about seeing Chicago’s McCormick Place transform into Candy Land for the annual Sweets & Snacks Expo, hosted May 23-25 by the National Confectioners Association.

In attending the Welcome Reception on Monday evening and then touring the Expo the next day, I suddenly realized how quickly time can fly in the confectionery industry. 

Ferrero North America, manufacturer of cocoa hazelnut spread Nutella, will open its first restaurant in Chicago later this month.

After three hours of intense, precise work, Jove Hubbard sat bleary-eyed in the lobby of the Chicago Chocolate Academy.

Florent Cheveau, executive pastry chef at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, will represent the United States in the 7th World Chocolate Masters competition, sponsored by Cacao Barry.