When would you make a trip to the Chocolate Cafe? Yes, yes, Valentine's Day. The first chocolate-filled hearts were given for Valentine's Day in 1861, a little morsel of information I learned today.The Chocolate Cafe may be found in Old Town Ft. Collins.
The tri-fold menu has one column of entres and two of desserts. About two dozen tables are covered with white linen accented with brown cloths. The white china seems European, differently shaped, modernistic, with unfamiliar curves and off-centered saucers. Chocolate and coffee houses originated in Europe, so I can get the connection in decor.
I had apple-bacon quiche, Jesse fresh tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, and Lola, my sister-in-law, had a seared tuna pasta. That was only an excuse to kill time before the desserts. I had the elegant brownie and pecan ice cream covered with caramel and sweet bits. Jesse and Lola shared a piece of the stunning chocolate pecan pie. Chocolate Pecan Pie is a pseudonym for Decadence Incarnate.
After the bus ride back to the Senior Center we walked into a seminar on Chocolate. Unlike other Valentine's Days in recent memory, we were saturated in chocolate mind and body.
While I'd love to share more juicy tidbits (M&M's are the favorite candy world-wide, though not in the US where we love Snickers best), I have to tell you the disgusting news we learned about this sweetest treat:
Most of the chocolate eaten in the United States comes from Africa and is produced with slave labor, especially labor of child slaves. The only way for a manufacturer to certify that chocolate is not made with slave labor is for the company to go to the grower and buy direct.
As for corporate chocolate, Hershey's is now offering one line of chocolates certified as slavery-free, called Rain Forest. I'm glad they are moving in the right direction, but don't you wonder about the rest of their lines? What if chocolates had warning labels: Caution: Made by Slaves. Would chocolate still taste good? Or would we throw up?