Good for You Chocolate, Around the World
A series of informative articles this week reveals that chocolate can be used for a good cause, and might even help the environment, too.
- In Beaumont, Texas, Suga's Deep South Cuisine and Jazz Bar hosted a dessert-themed fundraiser to benefit arts programming for school-age children. The beneficiaries executive director said, "We wanted something really fun and casual where people could visit. Suga's pastry chef, Melissa Lavespere, really is excited about this. It's a wonderful opportunity for her to showcase her talents. She's doing a wide variety of desserts, from chocolate dipped strawberries to petit fours to a chocolate fountain. We'll also have wine and champagne and cappuccino drinks."
- Roanoke, Virginia, saw another chocolate-themed fundraiser, this time to support sending junior chefs to a regional competition. The event included a pantheon of scrumptious confections, including a dessert that was a combination of desserts -- french silk and Kentucky Derby pies. The layered creation included chocolate silk, a chocolate chip blondie, chocolate peanut butter fudge and chocolate ganache piled on an Oreo crust.
- In related news, YubaNet.com reports on the "greening" of cacao farming in Belize to help turn the tide on deforestation with shade-grown cacao. "Cacao trees, the source of those unusual seeds from which they make cocoa, are uniquely suited for organic, shade grown conditions. The low trees do best in the protection of the rainforest canopy, relying on the tall, mature trees to protect them from wind and sun and conserve soil moisture."
- Finally, in a public service decision above and beyond the call of duty, Mars Inc. in the U.K. has recently vowed to stop targeting children under 12 in their chocolate ads. "The US-based company is one of the world's biggest advertisers and it has a policy already in place of not advertising to children under six years of age. Its latest decision spurs from the debate over advertising and promoting junk food and the increasing rate of child obesity."