Having spent an inspiring few weeks last October judging for the UK’s Academy of Chocolate, I eagerly scrolled through the email in December announcing the winners. I knew New Zealand was in a strong position, but when the results came through I was blown away. Thirty medals, from just five makers in a country of barely 5.2 million people.
New Zealand may frequently get missed off world maps for all sorts of things, but our place was now even more firmly solidified on the world chocolate map!
It was a bright yet blustery day in Wellington, the sun was shining but there was a distinct nip in the air, typical for late winter when the early hints of spring are just beginning to make themselves known. I was heading to Lyall Bay. Not to surf, although conditions were good. No, I was off to meet Kate Necklen, the creative mastermind behind the magic that is Wonderland Chocolate.
Having spent the first few days of our Vanuatu adventure on the island of Efate relaxing and catching up with Oli at Gaston Chocolat, it was time to head to Malekula. As the plane arced around and began it’s final decent, the azure blue water stretched out below us, lapping at the white corral sand beaches that rimmed the lush emerald green of the island. I felt little rushes of excitement for what chocolatey adventures lay ahead.
After seven years living in New Zealand it was high time I visited some of the beautiful neighbouring Pacific island nations, famous for snorkelling and diving, surfing, relaxation, and more recently, cacao. Being early August it was still technically the middle of winter for New Zealand, so what better way to shake off the winter blues than head to Vanuatu for two weeks? On this beautiful Pacific archipelago we were lucky enough to meet up with a good friend of mine, Olivier Fernandez of Gaston Chocolate. He greets us with open arms at Port Vila airport, his cheeky grin and sparkling blue eyes a welcome sight after a surprisingly long trip from New Zealand.
[NOTE: This is a re-share of a 2007 post on Zozobra.
Many readers will be well aware of Burning Man, its location, the challenging terrain, and all that it stands for. But how many of you know much about its inspiration and origin? Read on to discover one of those lesser-known festivals directly credited with it’s inspiration.]
New Mexico really is a one-of-a-kind state. There aren’t any other states where you get quite such a potent mix of Mexican, Native American, Afro American and Old World American culture, all in one stunning state. Zozobra is one of those fine examples of historical and cultural superstition mixed in with the American avant-garde arts scene. Think Burning Man, just on a much smaller scale.
Continue reading “Happy 101st Birthday Zozobra! Old Man Gloom, and the Fire Spirit of Santa Fe”
It was a cold start in late July, leaving a wintery Wellington to head to an even more wintery Christchurch, having to scrape thick ice off the hire car on our arrival. But I was on a mission to interview New Zealand’s Outstanding Food Producer Awards winner Nel Vincencio, the mastermind behind Mind Your Temper, and no amount of ice or snow was going to stop me!
Ok, so the saying from the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle actually goes “You will never do anything in this world without courage”, but chocolate certainly helps give you the courage in trying situations.
You’re probably wondering why, or how I’ve somehow managed to link Greek philosophy, courage and chocolate together?! I was lucky enough to meet Aristotelis of the Dark Side of Chocolate on my recent trip to Athens, and oh what a sweet, and philosophical, treat that was!
After our Honduran Interlude, we made it to Central America’s smallest and most densely populated country, and the only country in the world named directly after Jesus Christ – ‘El Salvador’ translates to ‘The Saviour’ in English.
We didn’t actually fly into El Salvador though, contrary to the title of this blog post, we just caught the ‘chicken bus’ over from Honduras. But ever since listening to London indie rock band Athlete’s song lyrics to the aptly named ‘El Salvador’ on my bus journeys to school all those years ago, humming along to the lyrics “Fly to El Salvador, I don’t know why and I don’t know what for…”, I’d always had an urge to go to the place, to find out what the “what for” in the song was they were always singing about actually was.
During our sojourn through the Americas; leaving the kak’ik (turkey stew), Atol de Elote (corn and cacao drink), picbil shawls and active volcano hikes behind us in Guatemala; we dipped in to Honduras, for the ancient Mayan site of Copán Ruinas, beautiful ruby red macaw parrots, ‘pupusas’, and yes, a little bit of chocolate!.
It was both a pleasure and a privilege to meet with Emily Stone, a pioneer in the cocoa industry and founder of American-based cocoa bean brokers Uncommon Cacao. During our travels through Guatemala, we were lucky enough to join Emily and her team at Cacao Verapaz – one of the majority-farmer-owned subsidiaries of Uncommon Cacao – for two days during their aptly named ‘Guatemala Chocolate Week’. We were also lucky enough to find (possibly) the world’s largest cacao pod!!
Surely a contender for the world’s largest cacao pod?
The Adventures of Elle Coco 