VIDEO: Gary Dell’Abate Lived Out His Willy Wonka Fantasy During Chocolate Factory Visit
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never seen a human being eat that much chocolate,” owner says of Stern Show executive producer
May 8, 2024
After years of declaring his love of chocolate, Gary Dell’Abate finally received his Golden Ticket. On Wednesday, the Stern Show executive producer reflected on and played clips from the recent trip he took with staffer Jonathan Blitt to Bridgewater Chocolate in Connecticut. “It got a little crazy,” Gary confirmed to Howard of his indulgence that day. “I was trying to pace myself, but that fell apart quickly.”
After kicking things off by eating some broken chocolate bunnies, Gary had several ladles filled with liquid chocolate — something he doesn’t usually go for. “There’s something about it coming out of there that makes it different,” the pleasantly surprised producer told Blitt.
“It’s like a dude freebasing for the first time,” Howard observed in amazement.
Eventually Gary was put to work making a chocolate turtle — but he didn’t let the labor get in the way of his appetite. Instead, he allowed Blitt to feed him chocolate since his own hands were full. “It was kind of like feeding a giraffe I would imagine,” Blitt told Howard. “Getting that close to something so foreign … I liked it. It was a very pleasing scenario.”
Having already consumed a great deal of product, Gary broke for a non-chocolate lunch — but he was far from finished. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never seen a human being eat that much chocolate,” the owner told him.
When given the opportunity to make his own chocolate bar, Gary insisted it contain peanut butter. “Peanut butter and dark chocolate is my favorite combination,” he explained at the factory before making a startling admission. “Sometimes I will take a spoonful of peanut butter and then I’ll put my thumb in it, and then I’ll fill it with chocolate chips, and I’ll eat it.”
Things got so intense the executive producer started sucking chocolate and peanut butter directly from pastry bags. “Oh my God, that was fucking great,” he remarked before giving Blitt some direction. “You’ve got to put the nipple in my mouth — not in a weird way.”
“He looked like he was playing the bag pipes,” Howard marveled after seeing a picture.
At last, Dell’Abate started to feel the effects of his consumption — which also included a custom chocolate in the shape of his face. “I think I’m high on fumes and sugar,” he told Blitt during a digestion break before adding, “I’m close to chocolate capacity … [but] in two hours I’ll want more.”
