World Chocolate Day in France
World Chocolate Day is celebrated across the world on 7 July each year and in our family we always look forward to this delicious day of celebration. What about in France, is World Chocolate Day just another day, or is it something special? France is known for its gourmet food and luxury brands and chocolate falls into both these categories. Ancient stores with family run chocolate businesses, luxurious department stores and modern concept stores all sell chocolate in France, and they sell a lot!
Mothers buying for children, lover’s buying for one another, friends buying for each other and dinner guests buying the traditional hostess gift – its chocolate all year round in France. The French love good quality chocolate and the numerous boutiques and huge supermarket aisles filled to capacity of chocolate blocks and biscuits are testament to this. So in reality, World Chocolate Day in France does not stop the national, but is rather an extension of their way of life.
It’s a great excuse to enjoy the delights of cocoa, either with a comforting favourite or by trying some new flavours. Are you a milk, white or dark chocolate lover? Our family is divided with half loving milk chocolate and the other half always choosing white.
À la Mère de Famille – An Ancient Parisian Chocolatier
À la Mère de Famille is one of my favourite chocolate boutiques in Paris and I usually pop into one of their stores when in Paris to try the new season’s creations. The 262 year old history of the brand is an incredible one and a testament to how Parisians love chocolate – I love the history behind the stores I shop in when in Paris.
At 262 years old, À la Mère de Famille is more alive than ever! With an online store and new addresses all over Paris, in the spirit of the historic Maison at 35, rue du Faubourg Montmartre, À la Mère de Famille is still a paradise for gourmets. – À la Mère de Famille
We have been educated in this love of good things and wish to transmit this. Our mother and our grandmothers cooked a lot, the table was a place of meeting, sharing and pleasure. Like them, we go to great lengths, taste absolutely everything – we all have a very good appetite! -, in order to agree together, and are proud of what we manufacture. – Jane, À la Mère de Famille
Why Do We Celebrate World Chocolate Day?
It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact reason why July 7 was chosen as the day to appreciate chocolate, but on my research I’ve traced it back to July 7, 1550, when cocoa was first brought to Europe in large quantities. Some records say that Christopher Colombus might have brought cocoa to Spain in around 1504, but that the aristocracy held a monopoly on it for hundreds of years before it trickled down to the lower classes and gained widespread popularity.
Interestingly, although World Chocolate Day is most commonly celebrated on July 7, there is also another date when chocolate is celebrated. International Chocolate Day held on September 13 in the United States marks the birthday of Milton Hershey, who founded the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894.
Either way, World Chocolate day is a fairly modern event, as people only started to celebrate it annually in July around 2009.
The 4 Common Types of Chocolate
- Unsweetened baking chocolate – cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.
- Sweet chocolate – cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat and sugar.
- Milk chocolate – sweet chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk.
- White chocolate – cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.
So however you’re going to celebrate World Chocolate Day, I hope you enjoy this day of celebration. Maybe bake a cake, try a new chocolate bar, or savour chocolate delicacies with your tea or coffee.
Bon appétit!
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