The foodblogging event, Food Destinations #3: My Favorite Chocolate Shop, has officially closed. Emily of Chocolate in Context kindly hosted the event originated by maki, and posted a roundup of chocolatey entries today. If you’re a chocolate enthusiast, you must check out the entries for this event. Even if you aren’t a big chocolate fan (is that possible?), it’s fascinating to make the virtual acquaintance of chocolate shops and their very dedicated patrons in Switzerland, Australia, New York, and Italy. I lost count of all the chocolate retail websites I must’ve added to my del.icio.us today, as a result.
The greatest eye opener for me, however, was the video in Ed’s post over at Tomato. The video is a short PR film on Grenada Chocolate company, called “Radical Chocolate” by Eti Pelig. I’ve seen a bar or two of Grenada chocolate at my local chocolate shop, but haven’t really gotten around to picking some up. Its packaging is bright and playful, almost the sort of packaging you’d associate with candy for children. I like my chocolate bitter and intense, so perhaps maybe that’s why I never tried it out. According to the film, Grenada Chocolate is perhaps the first solar-operated chocolate producing cooperative in the world. This is a far cry from the behemoth chocolate producers who engage in appalling labor practices, particularly in some parts of Western Africa. In contrast, founder Mott Green decided to revive the dying cacao industry in Grenada by developing a small-scale chocolate production facility owned by workers. The company provides dignified, safe work to the people in the area, and the cacao is sustainably, and ecologically grown. It’s really an amazing story, but Pelig’s video tells it best. As soon as I saw the film, I understood that Grenada Chocolate’s colorful packaging is simply an accurate reflection of the vibrant Caribbean community where the factory resides.
Many thanks to Emily for hosting this fun event, and for choosing an open cupboard as the winner.
