16 November 2009
Divine Chocolate makes the dream cooking ingredient and we have some fabulously festive recipes to try this Christmas. And it’s not just us who like to cook with Divine, top chefs such as Jean Christophe Novelli and Michael Caines love to use Divine. Divine is also the chocolate of choice for all the chefs demonstrating at MasterChef LIVE at Kensington Olympia and BBC Good Food Birmingham this month – that includes former winners of the BBCs MasterChef Liz McClarnon, Andi Peters, Thomasina Miers, Nadia Sawalha and James Nathan as well as top chefs including Michel Roux Jr, James Martin, and Valentine Warner. If any proof were required of Divine’s merits as a cooking ingredient then this is surely it!
Arthur Potts Dawson, executive chef of London’s first truly eco-friendly restaurant Acorn House says, “Not only is their chocolate Fairtrade and co-owned by the Ghanaian cocoa farmers, but it’s a fantastic chocolate too”. Arthur and his chefs created this wonderful Chestnut & Chocolate Cake just for Divine. It uses Divine’s critically acclaimed* dark chocolate made with 70% cocoa solids as well as chestnuts which lend the cake a deep, moist flavour. It makes an ideal alternative to the traditional Christmas cake. View the recipe online here.
Divine’s cookbook is bursting with festive recipes. All the recipes have been created especially for Divine by baking and chocolate expert Linda Collister, who trained at the Cordon Bleu in London and La Varenne in Paris and for some years worked as private chef for the late Queen Mother. Divine Heavenly Chocolate Recipes with a Heart is available from all good bookshops and online (RRP £19.99, Absolute Press). Or treat a loved one this Christmas to a Divine Baking Hamper which includes the recipe book Divine cooking ingredients. Buy online at the Divine Chocolate Shop.
Why not try these seasonal treats this Christmas?
White Chocolate Cookies studded with Cranberries combine Divine’s creamy white chocolate with slightly sharp and rich red cranberries and make perfect snacks for all the family.
Of her Pannetone recipe, Linda says, “I make this at Christmas ready for those late breakfasts and brunches, when all anyone wants is a large coffee and a slice of something special to celebrate the holiday”. The very fine, cake-like crumb and texture of this festive Italian bread is delicious toasted.
Divine’s Stem Ginger and Chocolate Chunk Cake uses oozes festive warmth with it combination of spicy ginger, sticky black treacle and honey and Divine’s smooth milk chocolate. Remarkably easy to make, best served thickly sliced.
La Torta Di Cioccolata is Divine’s version of the classic Italian chocolate and nut dessert. In Turin it is made with dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts, other towns in Italy use walnuts or almonds or a combination. It requires no cooking and is stored in the fridge. It will impress any impromptu visits from friends and family. Best served in small slices after dinner with coffee, or in larger wedges with whipped cream & brandy as a dessert.
Using chocolate in savoury dishes is a fundamental component of Mexican cooking and has now caught on in top restaurants in the UK. Try this Fillet of Venison with a Rich Chilli & Chocolate Sauce and serve it with rosti potatoes and grilled mushrooms for sophisticated Christmas entertaining. The rich sauce combines deep bitter-chocolate with chilli and really packs a punch.
For images and recipes please contact Rosanna
Every stage in the creation of Divine chocolate is carried out with passion and devotion with the sole aim of creating an irresistible taste experience for chocolate lovers. The flavour and texture of Divine – whether it is the smooth, creamy milk chocolate, the rich, intense dark chocolate with 70% cocoa, or the silky vanilla white chocolate has been designed to bring out the very best from the quality cocoa sourced from Ghana in West Africa.
Divine Chocolate is made from only the very best cocoa nurtured and handpicked by cocoa farmers in Ghana. The cocoa trees grow in the shade of the tropical rainforest, and the beans are slowly fermented and dried in the sun to produce the finest flavour. Divine combines the cocoa beans and butter with entirely natural ingredients to allow the full chocolate flavour to come through and has an exciting and alluring product range including a diverse range of 100g and countline bars, gifts and seasonal specialities. Brand new to the Divine flavour range are the 100g Dark Chocolate with Raspberries and the countline Butterscotch Milk Chocolate bars. All Divine’s bars are suitable for vegetarians and Kosher certified. The Dark Chocolate is suitable for vegans.
Choosing Divine as your chocolate treat is a delicious way of playing your part in a more equitable trading partnership. Divine is the only Fairtrade chocolate company which is 45% owned by the farmers. While fair trade ensures farmers receive a better deal for their cocoa and additional income to invest in their community, company ownership gives farmers a share of Divine’s profits and a stronger voice in the cocoa industry.
* Critical acclaim for Divine’s 70% dark chocolate includes:
• Charles Campion, Food Critic, The Independent: “…for a really good balance between price and performance look out for Divine’s Fairtrade 70% dark chocolate – very fruity, with a good texture and a long finish”.
• Chocolate expert and founder member of the Academy of Chocolate Sara Jayne-Stanes on Divine 70% Dark: “a mouthful of intense, very smooth, delectable chocolate … Divine is in a league of its own”.
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Please contact Rosanna Mayhew on 0207 378 6550 for images and more information.
Editors’ notes
• Divine Chocolate Ltd is the only Fairtrade chocolate company that is also co-owned by cocoa farmers. Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, benefit not only from the Fairtrade premium on the sale of their beans, but also receive a 45% share of Divine’s distributable profits giving the farmers more economic stability, as well as the increased influence in the cocoa industry company-ownership brings.
• Keep up to date with Divine online:
For Divine gifts: Divine Chocolate Shop
Follow the Divine blog
Follow Divine on Twitter
• For sales and stockist enquiries contact alistair@divinechocolate.com or find more details on www.divinechocolate.com
• All Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee certified by the Fairtrade Foundation that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure minimum price, an extra social premium payment for the farmers to invest in their own community programmes, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions – all aimed at empowering farmers to make their own improvements to living standards and prospects for the future.
• Divine Chocolate has won a number of prestigious awards. These include Good Housekeeping’s Favourite Fairtrade Product 2008 and Best Food Brand in the SHE magazine Ethical Awards 2007. Divine Chocolate Ltd was awarded Best Social Enterprise 2007 at the Enterprising Solutions awards run by the Office of the Third Sector and The Observer Best Ethical Business 2008.
• The UK chocolate market alone is worth approximately £3.6 billion a year: if Fairtrade products can capture even a small proportion of that market, producers in developing countries gain real benefits.