CHOCOLATE...

Who doesn't love a bit of chocolate now and again? I'm personally only really a fan of dark chocolate, though will try others, especially if they're part of a luxurious dessert. But normally, the darker the better, and I've recently become a fan of raw chocolate, which is made by cold grinding beans, rather than roasting them, meaning they retain all of the goodness and antioxidants that are so prevalent in cacao beans. You can read all about how chocolate is actually made here in a previous post I wrote.

One brand I've become particularly fond of is Lovechock - a new-ish to market raw chocolate bar. It's 100% organic, sweetened with the dried nectar of coconut palm tree blossom (which is the most sustainable sugar available and is packed with nutrients and antioxidants), and is flavoured with superfoods, like nuts, goji berries and actual cacao nibs. It comes in various flavours including my favourites - almond and fig, pecan and maca, raw and nibs, and mulberry and vanilla.

If you're less concerned about good for you chocolate but want something decadent to gift this Christmas, La Maison du Chocolat have just launched their Christmas collection - boxes of nutty, citrusy chocolates made with the very finest chocolate that come in a sweet, festive box. Definitely a good pressie for a chocolate loving friend!

And if drinking hot chocolate is more your thing then pop down to Islington where award-winning independent producers Jaz and Juls have opened their first permanent chocolate house in Chapel Market. They're selling their hot chocolates, made using ethically sourced, organic dark chocolate, that come in flavours such as raspberry dream, chilli con choccy and gingerbread man. They've also got brownies, cookies, savoury black bean chocolate chilli and rocky road slices, and a shop selling their hot chocolate mixes and bean to bar products. A chocoholics dream?!

Talking of chocoholics, I bet even the most committed chocolate eaters don't know something I recently discovered - the taste of chocolate can be affected by your surroundings, particularly what you hear.... Sounds crazy, but if you pop down to Bompas and Parr's British Museum of Food next to Borough Market you can see/hear for yourself. They've got four booths set up, each playing a different noise/soundtrack, and as you move round each booth and sample a piece of the same chocolate, the taste seems to differ depending on what you're listening to. In fact, if you're interested in food you should definitely check out their Museum of Food - we had a fascinating afternoon there, sweating it out in the tropical heat with butterflies and whizzing through someone's gut whilst being poked and prodded in a massage chair!

If this all sounds like too much chocolate, then have a look at the British Heart Foundation's DECHOX campaign which runs throughout March 2016, and encourages people to give up chocolate for a whole month and fundraise for the BHF by doing so. In 2015, they raised a staggering £750k and they're looking to raise even more in 2016, so why not challenge yourself too? I'm working with the British Heart Foundation to create some sweet treat alternative recipes for DECHOX which you can enjoy instead of your normal chocolate goodies, so watch this space for more on that.