I love this quote - “Nine out of ten people love chocolate, the tenth lies.” John Tullius
Let’s face it: chocolate is one of life’s greatest pleasures – all over the world people love chocolate.
Selection of different chocolates
It has been the inspiration for novelists and filmmakers to produce wonderful movies like “Chocolat” and “Chocolate Factory” and because of its provocative and intoxicating flavour, chocolate has become known as “the food of the gods and the symbol of love”.
Gourmet gifts of handmade chocolates are given to friends, family and lovers on some of our most celebrated occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Chocolate has been seducing us for centuries beginning with the Mayan Indians of Mexico who were amongst the first chocolate lovers to believe it was a gift from the gods — a sentiment still shared by many of us today.
Chocolate is a sensual indulgence for women as it portrays images of love and romance and for this reason it has become a way for men to show their appreciation and love for the women in their lives.
Read more of The Chocolate Club Delivers Chocolate Delights On Mother’s Day And Beyond!
Not only was it an early start to the day but a very exciting one as well!
Richard was the first of the TVNZ breakfast weather team to arrive at 5.15am with all the tech gear followed closely by Hailey with the cameras. With Lucas and Alex not far behind the crew spent a bit of time deciding on the best place to position themselves and the gear to capture the day’s events.
The House of Chocolate team – Renata, Margaret, Thin, Ilham, Madison and I were primed and ready to go at 6am – Theresa joined us a little later.
The plan was to start at the front of the factory to give the TVNZ crew an introduction and explanation about the House of Chocolate and work our way through the chocolate making process, ending with a personalized egg handmade by Lucas for his niece – he was very excited about this!
Our visitors were fascinated by the huge chocolate machines oozing with thick, dark, shiny, melted chocolate – can you imagine how good this smells?
We were told that Tamati would be joining us so in anticipation of his visit and for a bit of fun we made him a large Easter Bunny and called him Tamati. Tamati (the bunny) joined us on the tour of the building and this created lots of silliness and laughter.
Time for Lucas to get kitted out to make his Easter egg – apron, hat and hand washing were all undertaken.
Read more of TVNZ Easter Hi-Jinks at House of Chocolate
Easter is a worldwide tradition and one of the biggest celebrations in the year. People celebrate Easter in many different ways.
For Christians it is their most important day as it signifies the end of death and the rebirth of life as they reflect, remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For others it’s a time to get together with family and friends to relax and enjoy the holiday and for children, mostly it’s all about chocolate Easter eggs.
Whatever your reason for celebrating Easter it’s a wonderful time for families to come together and Easter eggs are a big part of the celebrations enjoyed by everyone.
Just mention the word “chocolate” and see what happens to people – mouths start to water, eyes light up, faces break into smiles and hands twitch in readiness to take another chocolate from the box. Chocolate, for obvious reasons, has a reputation like no other food.
Easter is the perfect time to indulge yourself and others with the “food of gods” and with the incredible range of handmade chocolates available today, you can savour and appreciate a large variety of beautiful artisan chocolates very easily.
What is Easter without a chocolate bunny? Have you ever paused between mouthfuls of delicious chocolate to ponder the origins of the Easter egg and the bunny filled holiday we all love”?
Read more of Easter Bunny Brings Gourmet Chocolate Eggs To You
Most of us were brought up to think so…it was bad for our teeth our health and our diet.
But recent research shows that chocolate provides a natural form of health-promoting substances called flavonoids, these help prevent heart disease and cancer.
Chocolate contains antioxidants and this fact alone has generated a lot of interest as studies show that these compounds are more powerful antioxidants than EGCG in tea, which is a strong antioxidant.
Up until recently we were never made aware of the amazing health benefits of this incredible little bean, not to mention the fascinating allure and irresistible flavour of chocolate.
Chocolate has been a source of nourishment for many decades and it has only in recent years – much to the delight of the entire world – been declared that this truly decadent substance is actually good for us!
But more of the healthy stuff in a later post…
Cacoa Beans
It is believed that Christopher Columbus first brought cacoa beans to Europe sometime between 1502 and 1504 on his fourth visit to the “New World”. Columbus discovered the cacoa bean when he robbed the cargo of a Mayan trader somewhere near modern Honduras.
Read more of Who Said Chocolate was Bad For Us?