chocolate in the news

The Chocolate Festival

Yael Rose has loved chocolate pretty much all her life. She finds Zen in drinking a cup of hot chocolate or munching on cocoa nibs. "To be honest, I think it’s an addiction," she said. "There’s something about the smell and colors of chocolate I simply can’t resist every single time."

She took this intense love for chocolate to a pro level and became the director of The Chocolate Festival. This event will be happening in Brighton, London and Oxford around Christmas and Easter. It will be all about chocolate and it's taking place down London's Southbank Center Square (Belvedere Road) from December 9 to 11, 2011.
Read more

Skinny Models + Chocolate Ads = Guilt

Women are generally figure-conscious. We all root for that runway-ready body. Suffice it to say, we tend to watch almost everything we eat. Turns out, all the conscious efforts to keep and stay away from fattening food are upped when we see skinny chicks endorsing them.

A recent study done by the researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow showed that when a chocolate advertisement involves larger women, then viewers are less likely to worry about indulging themselves in these sweet treats.

The said researchers conducted a study wherein they asked 84 women aged 17-63 asked about their chocolate-eating patterns and if ever they felt any guilt after having consumed some.
Read more

Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight

I have mentioned in one of my previous blog posts about a new experiment conducted that involved chocolate in weight-loss diets. Well, this one might just up any chocoholic's excitement just a little bit more.

True Healthy Dark ChocolateThe holidays are just around the corner. And we all know what's in it during this anticipated time of the year… food, lots of it. Eating and drinking just can't get any better when done with the most special people in your life around. And since it happens only once in a year, most of us tend to go overboard and end up gaining unwanted pounds.
Read more

Chocolate And Chemistry Meet

Chocolate is downright mouth-watering, and most of us aren't exactly aware of the reason why we just can't resist it allure.  But those who make chocolate pretty much know why people find it irresistible, and it all boils down to chemistry.

Chocolate may be sweet and all that but the main culprit for its unexplainable appeal is the fat, according to Professor Dolores O’Riordan of University College Dublin who is based in the Institute of Food and Health. In a lecture during the Science week named Smart Chemistry – Tasty Food!, she said "The melting of the fat is very important."
Read more

The Love-Hate Thing With Chocolate Milk

Chocolate milk has been creating significant buzz lately. I even got the chance to blog about how it was being recommended as the treat of choice this past Halloween. It’s also a well-loved "sports drink" by many athletes and they have it mostly after exercise.

Chocolate Milk (12-pack of 8 oz cartons)

lowfat, no corn syrup


Read more

Eat Chocolate, Feed Children

Breakfast Clubs of Canada is a non-profit organization aiming to supply services and financial support to community-based breakfast programs with the backup of their individual and corporate partners who are equally willing to help feed children.

Nation Bank Financial Group has supported Breakfast Clubs of Canada and cooperated this year by presenting Theobroma chocolates as a means for fund-raising. These organic and fair-trade chocolates are individually wrapped inside boxes and sell for $5.

The available flavors are dark chocolate, dark chocolate with a burst of orange, and dark chocolate with raspberry. You can get these treats at National Bank branches from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31. Proceeds will go to school breakfast programs across all Canada.
Read more

Chocolate Beer

Detroit’s darling candy maker, Sanders Candy, has been around for 136 years already. They are known for their delectable treats namely chocolates, cakes, ice cream, among others. Now, they have ventured into adult treats and partnered with another Detroit classic, Detroit Brewing Co., to come up with a refreshingly unique beer, Sanders Chocolate Stout.

Sanders is reportedly arranging for a huge introduction of this 1-year-old Chocolate Stout into the market later this month and is also planning to make a chocolate-based dessert wine.

"Craft beers are becoming more popular as consumers look for local, authentic, handcrafted foods and beverages with passionate food artisans and entrepreneurs behind them," said a spokesperson for the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Louise Kramer. Additionally, "chocolate is hugely popular with consumers of specialty foods." True enough, chocolate was named as 2011’s top specialty food.
Read more

New York Chocolate Show

Event International is presenting a show that would make any chocophile’s heart melt. The 14th Annual New York Chocolate Show, the largest event solely dedicated to chocolate, started yesterday November 10th and will be taking place until Sunday November 13th at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 125 W 18th St.

More than 65 national and international chocolate companies are gathering to offer their finest chocolates and chocolate-inspired products to entice all the chocoholics who will pay a visit.

Hurry up and get to the show!  You don’t want miss the chance to treat yourself to different head-tilting good chocolates in this once a year event. If you have any self-control remaining, you can even buy chocolates for the self-confessed chocoholics you may personally know.
Read more

Chocolate Festival For A Cause

York Technical College's Baxter M. Hood Center (South Carolina) was jam-packed with people last Sunday afternoon to celebrate Keystone Substance Abuse Services' third annual Decadent Dreams Chocolate Festival.

With tickets on hand, people could purchase samples of cookies, cupcakes, and truffles,  among many others. They even offered a trip to a tall chocolate fountain. Additionally, they were able to stop over at a chocolate spa and get pampered with a massage using chocolate cake-scented oil.

Those people didn’t only get to satisfy their sweet-tooth cravings but were also able to help a cause. The affair is a fundraiser for the non-profit Keystone, which offers treatment and prevention services for substance abuse in York County.
Read more

Chocolate for Cats?

Neighborhood Cats has been chosen as the Charity of the Month for November 2011 by Rescue Chocolate, a Brooklyn NY-headquartered chocolatier which was founded in January 2010. 100% of the net profits from each handcrafted, all-natural vegan treats are donated to animal welfare organizations across the country.

The Neighborhood Cats are aiming to encourage humane measures to lower the feral cat population in the country. The particular measure they are taking is called TNR (trap-neuter-return). TNR engages trained volunteers to gather the feral cats that they can find, getting the cats spayed or neutered, and then returning them to their colonies to peacefully live out their lives. Also NY-based, Neighborhood Cats is well-known in the feral field as developers of educational materials including books, videos, and online courses that tackle TNR.

"I’ve lived with dogs all my life and never with cats," said Rescue Chocolate Founder Sarah Gross. "But I’m certainly aware of the problems that cats face on the streets. I’m really honored to be able to be a small part of the solution."
Read more