Today we have a *star* guest appearance (well for me, it is) on R khooks. I was absolutely delighted when my Mum sent me her entry for the competition (she was the one to make me aware of the cause). So I was only to happy to put her entry up on my blog. And what an entry it is! Yummy chocolate with a tangy orange kick, this bread will be giving the other choctastic entries a run for it’s money.

P.S. For all of you who haven’t had the time to enter I’m extending the deadline until Monday the 8th October. So go bake something chocolately this weekend! Keep reading…

Tags: Competition, Stop the Traffik

I chocolate especially dark chocolate. There’s nothing more satisfying than unwrapping that gold paper ‘Willy wonka style’ and taking a large bite out of a chunky bar of dark chocolate. It’s pure, quite egoistic, self satisfaction but always tainted with that slight feeling of guilt (why is there no such thing as a decent ‘light’ chocolate bar?). Having now found out about the trafficking involved, eating any ‘regular’ chocolate bar is stained with even more guilt.

Keep reading…

Tags: Competition, Stop the Traffik

Just a quick reminder for all those chocholics! Don’t forget to send me your entries for the Stop the traffik chocolate competition. Deadline is next Friday 5th Monday 8th October.

P.S. If anyone can guess correctly what I made (see photo above). I’ll send you a fairtrade chocolate bar

Tags: chocoholics, Competition, Stop the Traffik

Everyone loves chocolate (O.K. there are a few oddbods who aren’t chocolate fans).The amount of chocolate we consume is astounding. The Swiss (at 22.36 lbs/yr per person) come tops in chocolate consumption, followed by the Austrians (20.13 lbs/yr per person)…the States are 11th with 11.64 lbs/yr per person (for more stats click here). That’s one hell of a lot of chocolate.

Recently I was made aware of the child slave labour that is involved in chocolate.

“Nearly half the world’s chocolate is made from cocoa grown in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa.
The 2000 US State Department Human Rights report said “It is estimated that some 15,000 Malian children work on Ivorian cocoa and coffee plantations. Many are under 12 years-of-age, sold into indentured servitude for $140, and work 12-hour days for $135 to $189 per year.”

The stop the traffik campaign is trying to get Chocolate companies to use a label to show they don’t support slave labour. There are more and more companies which produce ‘fairtrade’ chocolate. In the UK there’s Oxfam, fairtrade, Green & Blacks Maya Gold…more examples here. In the French supermarkets I’ve seen “le commerce equitable chocolat”. And I had a quick look on the net and in the States I found fairtrade products. If any American readers know anymore companies let me know…

So I’m calling all you chocoholics. Whip up your best chocolate recipe using slave labour free chocolate and send me your entries.

I will be sending the winner a little ‘traffik free’chocolate goodie bag.

Make sure to come back to check out the results and to vote (around about the 10th Oct.)

Keep reading…

Tags: Competition, Stop the Traffik

Guess who’s birthday it is today? Mine and for a change somebody made me a cake (although I was the Sous chef). The kids I look after made me this amazing chocolate cake with a strawberry mousse filling. Now I know my cake and this is definetly GOOD (with capitals). I make cakes almost everyday of the week and now have become a bit of a cake snob (I’m also a croissant and pain au chocolat snob. Since living in Paris I only eat croissants or pain au chocolats if they meet my criteria).

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