Celebrity Chefs Love Candy As Much As The Rest Of Us

Halloween is great for all the spooky decorations and fun costumes, but let's be real: at the end of the night, it all comes down to the candy haul. 

But if your whole world revolved around food, do you still have room to munch away on store-bought sweets? We caught with some of the country's best chefs at New York City's Wine and Food Festival and discovered the answer is a resounding yes. We heard a lot of fun favorites, but there was one big surprise. 

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For many it was the classics. Marc Forgione, of Iron Chef fame, likes to stick with Butterfingers. The Cecil's chef J.J. Johnson is all about tasting the rainbow with Skittles.  And Atwood Kitchen & Bar Room's Brad Warner says you "Gotta go with Reeses."

For many, candy favorites have been cemented since childhood. 

Rachael Ray still chows down on classic candies like Mary Janes and Shake Shack's Mark Rosati agrees– although his favorite is Whatchamacallit. 

But the real nostalgia winner is candy corn. Over half the chefs we asked cited the ubiquitous Halloween treat. The Melt Shop's Spencer Rubin even admitted that he "hate[s] candy corn but it's my favorite Halloween candy because you see it everywhere."

If you're expecting something a little fancier, then leave it up to a pastry chef. Quality Meats' Cory Colton suggests making your own confections by taking different chocolate candies to "mash together and make new combinations."

But the biggest Halloween tip we got was to head over to Rachael Ray's house. She admits that "no matter how many bonfires I put out no one comes. My mom buys Reeses [Peanut Butter] cups and we eat them all week long."

When it comes to candy tastes across the U.S., Americans are just as divided as the chefs.

Product review network Influenster created a heatmap with a state-by-state breakdown of the most beloved candies. Floridians love to chow down on Nestle Crunch bars while Californians suck on Lifesavers. But candy corn came out on top in several states including Tennessee, Texas and Oregon.

This Halloween, are ready to try something new? Or will you be sticking to classic candy corn? With only a few days to go before Halloween, it's time to get ready for some serious trick-or-treating.

This article was originally published on October 21, 2016.

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