Last summer my extended family, around sixteen of us, gathered in a beach house in Virginia playing a game. I don’t recall the name
of the game, but the way it works is everyone takes a turn answering a question
posed anonymously by one of the players. It’s a lot of fun and you tend to
learn some surprising things about each other! One of the questions was: If you
had to pick two foods to eat every day for the rest of your life, what would
they be? I didn’t have to think too hard about this one. Bread and dark
chocolate, without a doubt. I already eat them every day, and if I happen not to
for some bizarre reason (like being incapacitated by a stomach bug), I sorely
miss them.
I consume a few other foods pretty much every day too: salad
greens, olive oil, and orange juice come to mind. But I don’t relish them in
the same way that I relish bread and dark chocolate. Bread, “the staff of
life,” holds no shame. When made from whole grains, my preference, it can be
very nutritious. Chocolate is more questionable. In my defense, the chocolate
has to be dark, preferably at least 70% cacao. Anything with a hint of milk or
less than 60% is simply candy. Dark chocolate, on the other hand, is a food,
and a magical food at that. Anyone who appreciates dark chocolate knows what
I’m talking about (right, ladies?). Lately it’s
been touted as healthy, and one of the beautiful things about dark chocolate is that it
takes only a small amount to satisfy. The idea of consuming an entire bar in one sitting holds no appeal. But a square or two after a meal is
divine.
In France, chocolate is an art form rivaling haute couture, for example these chocolate shoes we saw displayed in a Parisian
chocolatier’s window.