Landing in the Yucutan, Our Big London Escape

It seems like such a long time ago now, but back in February we’d finally done it, we’d quit our jobs and booked a one way flight out of London. Arriving in Cancun some 18 hours later we immediately left – far too touristy for us – and headed to Playa del Carmen – still equally touristy (they have two, yes TWO Victorias’ Secret stores on the same street?!?!) but a little less intsense and better beaches.

If you’re after a 4 day itinerary in the Yucatan Peninsula that includes getting your Open WAter PADI cert and visiting one of the most amazing little chocolate shops EVER, then below is by no means an exhaustive list, but certainly ticks some of the must do big ticket items on offer along the Caribbean side of Mexico.

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Shens P’irs Shakari – Sugar to Your Mouth

It’s October 2017 and there is a subtle chill in the air, after a brief pit-stop in Ukraine we finally make it to Georgia, a country nestled up in the Caucasus mountains, just north of Armenia.

He is a tall fellow, and he greets us, leaning on his cane. He is not old, but something in his face tells me his experiences take him beyond his years and life on this earth. Any mention of the word ‘chocolate’ brings a cheeky sparkle to his eyes. He is Gella Kuprashvilli, from Tbilisi, and he is Georgia’s only bean to bar chocolate maker!

BIG Chocolate, small Island

On such a tiny island many great things happen in the world of chocolate. After an enlightening and revitalising start to the The Grenada Chocolate Festival, with cocoa meditation, cocoa beauty product making and an intense ‘hash’ through the jungle for the first official day, followed by a truly inspirational day two up at Zabuco Estate with Aaron from Tri Island chocolate, it was now time to get down to the business of cocoa. From the macro companies to the micro, past to present it was now time to discover the other influential cocoa growers of the Grenadian (and Caribbean) chocolate scene.

The guided chocolate tasting at Belmont Estate with Dr Sukha

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The Future of Grenadian Cocoa

Grenada is known as the Spice Isle of the Caribbean and is famous for its heady blend of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg that wafts around the island pretty much year round – you think it’s a myth until you are actually there, and it wraps you up in a fuzzy blanket of aroma as soon as you step off the plane – or was that the bug spray they doused us in before we left the aircraft? Anyway, what is still relatively unknown to many is that Grenada is also in the world’s top 10 countries for producing Fine Flavour Cacao – quite a feat given how small it is – see map below! It is also home to a very interesting man with very exciting plans for his ancestral cocoa farm!

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Chocolate Secrets of the Caribbean

After four long years I’m finally heading out to the Grenada Chocolate Festival, on the Caribbean island of Grenada (not the southern Spanish town of Granada – spelled and pronounced differently). My plane stops in Barbados for a few hours (it’s the Virgin Atlantic one and about £150 cheaper than the direct route or the one that stops in St Lucia to refuel), giving me just enough time to make a beeline for Oustins – a touristy foodie strip en route to Bridgetown frequented by burnt English people and pissed Aussies. As it turns out I’ve arrived for Friday Night Fish Fry, so it only seems right I settle for a grilled Mahimahi with rice n beans and fresh plantain, dressed with extra hot pepper and cocoa nib sauce and a rum punch to wash it down.

Mahi mahi rice n peas.jpg — Some of the best grilled mahi mahi I’ve had!

A little prop plane awaited my return to the airport, a drastic transformation from the jumbo I came over on, and in less than one hours I touched down in Grenada.

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Grow Your Own Chocolate

Since I’m fascinated with where food comes from, the next logical step in my ‘farm-to-table’ ‘bean-to-bar’ chocolate adventures was to try growing my own cacao trees…in London!

It was a challenge, with the first hurdle being to get fresh pods back from Ingemann in Nicaragua through US customs. After enduring a good hours’ worth of questioning by a typically Texan border enforcement official, the pods were let through!

My cacao pod stash, on arrival at Heathrow!

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It’s Always Raining Chocolate in Seattle

Arriving at Heathrow and through security (after a bit of a faff with a re-useable water bottle) I tuck into sushi for breakfast, which I successfully spill all over myself after just one mouthful. Covered in soy sauce, and too frustrated to properly clear up my sea food decorations now adorning Heathrow Airports’ freshly cleaned floors, I flounce off to the departures gate; embarrassed, hungry and too annoyed to look back. In Departures I hangrily eat what is left of my edamame beans, so aggressively that beans frequently shoot in all directions and I only eat about half of them, much to the amusement (or possible annoyance) of the man sat next to me.

Roll Up, Roll Up, Salon du Chocolat

It’s October, so it’s a little cold, and a spontaneous last-minute decision saw me book a day trip to Paris. Catching the train at 5:30am from London St Pancras International resulted in a wake up call of 3am – not pretty! Despite the train being quiet, I was WAY too excited to sleep as I was off to Salon du Chocolat – the world’s greatest chocolate show with makers, growers and artisans from around the world. One day gives you barely enough time even to scratch the surface, and being in Paris I obviously had to check out the Eiffel Tower too! Taking some Zotterschokoladen to help me ascend the 674 steps to the second Level.

A Northern Ireland Chocolate Quest

When you’re asked by the Academy of Chocolate to attend and speak at the Finnebrougue Fine Food Fair in Killyleagh Castle, Northern Ireland, courtesy of Food NI 2016 – the obvious answer to this request is ‘yes’.

The trip was all planned out by Food NI, and after an exhilaratingly turbulent 55 minute flight from Gatwick, I touched down in Belfast City Airport, greeted at the airport by Sharon Machala of Food NI – my chauffeur for the next 28 hours (this was very much a flying visit).

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How to Know if you’re a Chocoholic

…and what to do about it.

Please note: This article will not tell you how to to give up chocolate, that’s not the point.

The “Chocoholic”, as defined by Google and the English Oxford Dictionary reads: ‘A person who is addicted to, or very fond of, chocolate’, Wikipedia goes on to state: ‘A chocoholic is a person who craves or compulsively consumes chocolate.’ Sound familiar? There is even evidence to support this theory.