The Chocolate Weekly 48 - 2014

Welcome to the 48th Week of this year. I hope it will be a great one for all of you and with no chocolate shortage.

Chocolate shortage

In the last weeks all the world is talking about chocolate shortage. The reasons behind it are many. To solve this problem, many things have to be changed – also from the side of chocolate companies. Some of them, also Cacao Barry, already work on sustainability programmes, others instead still have to change their mindset. But putting all fault just on the chocolate companies is not enough. We all know that we, chocolovers, can make a small step too in the way we enjoy chocolate. So what can we do?

Here are some suggestions.

Chocolate and health

We have already been talking about the benefits of a dark chocolate for health in the past weeks. Now I have just read an article about a lovely lady who was this month celebrating her 100th birthday. She says one of the secrets for her longevity is probably also a bar of dark chocolate every evening. She obviously knows what is good …;)

Many new chocolate desserts have again appeared in London.
At The Ritz are waiting for you these delicious chocolate pies with tonka and salted haselnuts. Pastry chef: Lewis Wilson.

The inviting pies from the Ritz

Below instead is the first use of the new Bundt cake tin for Christmas Elevenses 2014 at the Claridge’s by the pastry chef Ross Sneddon. If already the first use looks like this, we are very much looking forward to see the final result!

The first testing at the Claridge’s

This one instead is already the final version of another dessert. It looks perfect, doesn’t it? We can’t expect less from the William Curley team…

Chocolate, Caramelised Banana & Peanut by William Curley

The Christmas chocolate development at Yauatcha by Sarah Frankland and Graham Hornigold: cinnamon almond and orange is also looking divine, isn’t it?

Christmas development at Yauatcha

And for the end a warm regard from Italy – a lovely chocolate dessert by the acclaimed Italian pastry chef Gianluca Fusto:

The chocolate love by Gianluca Fusto

and from the Netherlands. Sea buckthorn, chocolate, coffee and caramel are the ingredients of this delicious creation by the pastry chef Gert De Mangeleer .