Devouring delicious reading material with craft chocolate

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Over 40% of Britons claim to read for pleasure at least once a week, and almost 20% read for pleasure daily. And we spend over £3.5bn on books (growing to over £4bn during the pandemic).

In comparison, 75% of Britons consume chocolate (presumably for pleasure) at least once a week, and over 25% consume chocolate daily. And we spend over £5bn on chocolate (note: Includes chocolate cakes, ice cream, biscuits etc.).

So this week we’d like to invite you to combine the two with a series of great books that we, and the authors, have paired with some craft chocolate bars.

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Hot Off The Press!

“When I say to a parent, “read to a child”, I don’t want it to sound like medicine. I want it to sound like chocolate”.

Mem Fox – Reading Magic: Why reading aloud to our children will change their lives forever.

Friend of Cocoa Runners, Nettie Atkinson, has found the perfect way to showcase Mem Fox’s advice.

Whereas most of us know where apples and carrots come from, the same is sadly NOT true of chocolate. Nettie has written a fantastic picture book that is great to show, and read along with any pre-school kid. You, and they, will come out understanding how a cocoa bean is magically transformed into a chocolate bar.

Nettie has also picked a couple of bars to go along with her book; Bare Bones’ award-winning Philippine bar (hurry, we’ve only a few left, and Bare Bones themselves are sold out!) plus Chocolatemakers‘ Colombian “Pure Love” dark bar.

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Craft Chocolate Book Club

Earlier this month, another friend of Cocoa Runners, Kathryn Laverack (creator of Cocoa Encounters), hosted a special ‘craft chocolate book club’, where she explored the Colombian cocoa flavours in several bars as she discussed the Colombian novel ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’.

You can pick up these bars, and make these connections yourself:

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The Doc of Choc Collections

Dr Kristy Leissle (aka the Doc of Choc) is among the world’s leading experts on the chocolate and cocoa sector, particularly with regard to West Africa. Her book ‘Cocoa’ is a seminal piece of writing for understanding the industry.

We’ve paired her book with collections that celebrate African cocoa.

The Missing Ingredient (…is usually chocolate)

An enthusiastic advocate for craft chocolate, Jenny Linford has captured something important in her book ‘The Missing Ingredient’; “Time”.

Savouring craft chocolate is worth taking time over. Growing and crafting chocolate also takes time.

Mikkel Friis Holm features extensively in Jenny’s Book and pairings. And it’s perhaps not surprising that Mikkel, as a Dane, is a great fan of ‘hygge’, to quote Louisa Thomsen Brits’ ‘The Book of Hygge’, and it’s worth reflecting on the Danish concept:

“”When we hygger, we frame the moment, give it our full attention, savour and hold it, in an awareness that the moment will pass. We feel how one moment becomes layered on to the next; past and present mingled together – everything falling into place, into one accord”.

Quite. See how Mikkel’s bars and Jenny’s advice epitomise this.

Bars and Bottles

We owe a special thanks to author and broadcaster Rachel McCormack who’s helped us develop our understanding of whisky and chocolate’s relationships and created some awesome pairings.

Great craft chocolate has a lot in common with great Scotch whisky. Both are about crafting, time, savouring, and simple, high-quality ingredients.

Her book, ‘Chasing the Dram’, is a wonderful tour through Scotland’s whisky scene. You can pick it up along with a couple of bars which Rachel has paired with whiskies for us.

Mythbusting and Gut-busting

As well as launching the covid-19 ‘data crowdsourcing app, (Professor) Tim Spector has profoundly influenced the public understanding of gut health and food’s impact on our bodies. He and his wife are also huge craft chocolate champions.

So savour some chocolate as you ponder Tim’s descriptions of the myths and misinformation surrounding our food culture.

Food for Thought

Anyone who’s passionate about food should read Julian Baggini’s ‘The Virtues of the Table’.

Julian is that rare bird; a philosopher equally admired by his fellow professional philosophers (he’s the director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy) as well as loved by the general population for his articles and best-selling books.

Julian is an avid advocate of critical thinking, savouring, and great food, and we are proud to count him as a long-time supporter of Cocoa Runners and craft chocolate.

Julian’s thought-provoking book can be enjoyed alongside many different palate-provoking chocolate bars.

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Thanks again for your support. Let us know your thoughts about books and chocolate by commenting below.

Keep savouring and keep reading.

Spencer