Bears Love Chocolate, Too!

Who doesn’t love a delicious box of chocolates? It turns out that even bears can’t resist the allure of chocolate. Nor champagne for that matter. Check out this culinary bear encounter.

San Antonio Heights, Calif. (AP) — Deputies say a bear with an apparent sweet-tooth busted into a San Bernardino County home and gobbled up a box of chocolates from a couple’s refrigerator.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Alsky says the couple arrived home Saturday afternoon, found the bear chowing down in their kitchen and phoned for help. The bear fled before sheriff’s deputies arrived.

Alsky says the animal appeared to have pushed aside vegetables in the couple’s fridge and gone straight for the two-pound box of sweets.

He says the bear also tried to open a bottle of champagne but was not successful.

Information from: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, http://www.dailybulletin.com

The Chocolate Sherpa is on his way!

A few months ago, I blogged about Louis-Philippe Loncke and his quest to trek from Katmandu to Everest base camp for the world’s highest chocolate tasting. Congratulations to Louis-Philippe, now embarked on his adventure, bearing chocolate goodies along the way. You can keep track of the journey (and make a donation) on the chocolate sherpa website http://chocolate-sherpa.blogspot.com/. It is for a great cause, to raise money for the Nepal mobile hospital, which provides medical care to those living in remote areas.

Social entrepreneurship, chocolate style

I recently read about Nontwenhle Mchunu and knew I wanted to blog about this amazing woman. Winner of the South African Businesswomen’s Association 2008 Regional Business Achiever Awards in the Social Entrepreneur category, she is looking to create transformation through chocolate. Her dream of transforming Africa’s position in the chocolate world goes hand in hand with changing lives as well. Through building a successful chocolate company, Mchunu is also looking to create jobs in the townships of South Africa (where unemployment can run 40%), expand vocational education to youth, as well as use only ingredients from Africa that have been sustainably produced.

Chocolate confection has long been the domain of Europe. Most people associate chocolate with countries like Switzerland and Belgium. What few realize is that the majority of the world’s cocoa beans are grown in Africa. However, Africa is not known for prestigious chocolate confections. Mchunu is looking to change this by creating Africa’s first premium brand, Ezulwini Chocolat, and for African chocolate to have it’s place alongside other world class brands.  

What an inspiration to future entrepreneurs.  Mchunu hopes her dream can be an inspiration for others to achieve their dreams.  I look forward to hearing more about Mchunu and Ezulwini Chocolat in the future.

Valentine’s Day Story Winner

Happy Valentine’s Day

We have chosen the winner of the year’s supply of Brewed Chocolate. Congratulations to Dana Stone! Thank you for sharing your romantic Valentine’s Day story. When I read your story, I felt butterflies, too!

My husband is Active Duty Army. One year when he was deployed he filled out an entire box of valentines for me….you know the little ones that kids give out in school? The ones with a mini-envelope?

Well, he wrote a sweet message on EVERY ONE. Some were silly and some were romantic…it took me days to open them all and I still find them tucked in books as bookmarks, on my desk, etc and it brings back the memories of the (what felt like) million little love notes!

My favorite one was “If I was really a kid in kindergarden and I really did like you, I wouldn’t send this card to you…I’d just throw a pinecone at you or pull your braids!” So now we always joke about throwing a pinecone at each other.

I hid cards in his bags (he deployed again last week) but I only hid a few…not the dozens that he sent!

What a sweet husband! I know he’ll love finding your cards, too. Feel free to share again. Thanks, Dana. We at Cabaret send our best wishes to you and your husband.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your wonderful stories with us. Happy Valentine’s Day.

One Year’s Free Brewed Chocolate Giveaway!!

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Cabaret Foods is giving away a year’s supply of brewed chocolate. Here is your big opportunity to try the new way to experience chocolate, drinking it brewed!

Brewed Chocolate is a fundamentally new approach to chocolate – a beverage offered as a basic alternative to coffee, tea, etc. Made from raw, unground cocoa beans, the flavor is the natural taste of cacao, more like a chocolate tea than a traditional hot chocolate. Through sampling, we have found that brewing cocoa beans can bring out chocolate’s natural effects, e.g. mood elevation, stress relief, calmness, an increase in energy level.

To enter, simply share a favorite real life Valentine’s Day story. We all have that one Valentine’s Day story that we recount to friends for years. Now is your chance to not only share this story, but to also be one of the first to experience the enjoyment of Brewed Chocolate for a whole year. Stories can be any variety – romantic, funny, bittersweet, ironic, sentimental, etc. The winning story will be posted here on our blog.

To enter, e-mail your story to blog@brewedchocolate.com. Please include your story in the body of the email. No attachments will be accepted. The submission deadline has been extended to February 13, 2009, 5pm PST. The winner will be chosen on Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2009. Full contest details can be found here. Continental US residents only.

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day!

It’s time for another national food holiday commemorating chocolate. Today is National Chocolate Cake Day. In celebration, here is a link to Tastespotting’s wonderful collection of chocolate cake recipes. Enjoy!

The world’s highest chocolate tasting

You heard me right, the world’s highest chocolate tasting. Chocolate deliciousness at Mt. Everest. How’s that for a view?

Project: Chocolate Sherpa is the creation of Belgian Adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke. He will be trekking with 100 pounds of chocolate to Everest Base Camp, elevation 17,552 feet, for this most adventurous tasting. And it is for a great cause, raising funds for the Nepal Mobile Hospital.

Sounds like quite an adventure. Louis-Philippe is looking for sponsors and volunteers. Those interested can email him. For more information, go to http://chocolate-sherpa.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!!!

All of us at Cabaret wish you and your family a very Happy New Year and 2009 filled with joy, abundance and happiness!!!

Chocolate superheroes – New York Chocolate Fashion Show

The possibilities of chocolate never cease to amaze me. What other food can make you feel good, have wonderful health benefits, bring a smile to children and adults alike, and turn models into superheroes. Yes, you heard me right. models, superheroes… chocolate couture.

With a flair for the dramatic and an other worldly motif, the chocolate show was back in New York. The theme for last month’s fashion show was superheroes. Chocolatiers and fashion designers teamed up to make extraordinary chocolate creations. Batman, look out!

A first grader’s take on chocolate

We all know the experience of chocolate as an adult. For some a sinful delight. For others a craving that must be satisfied. And others a healthy snack. We are happy, satiated, indulged, relaxed and content. The five senses tickled. But what about the little ones amongst us. We’ve seen the smiling faces, a streak of chocolate on faces and fingers. Yes, they love candy, but what does chocolate mean to them? For this I went to the source and consulted an expert. So, here’s a First Grader’s take on chocolate:

Chocolate is sometimes kinda like coffee because of the color. Chocolate has a mixture of water and chocolate inside it. Chocolate is tasty. My favorite part is that it is sweet. I like chocolate because it is brown, like my hair. Sometimes I don’t like chocolate because it is for grown-ups. Chocolate ice cream is my favorite.

And then the interview was over. She adultly announced that she was done and had to go back to her homework. And I smiled.