Chocolate Week: The End

It's the final day, and blog post, of National Chocolate Week! While many people would argue that every week is chocolate week (and there are times when I think you do actually need, even just a little, chocolate every day), it has been enjoyable and interesting to focus on it - what it can mean, the memories it can stir up, the associations and pleasures that are tied up with it. Almost every celebration, holiday and event involve chocolate in one way or another - fueling birthdays, Christmases, weddings or quiet Saturday nights in. Chocolate (or at least the 'proper, high-quality' stuff) may aid memory, be good for the heart and help prevent illnesses, but whether it takes the form of cheap, impulse-bought confectionery, homemade brownies, impressive chocolate dresses, exotically-flavoured truffles or thick and sweet hot liquid, chocolate (eaten in moderation of course) is really just about giving yourself a little bit of pleasure. In the end, isn't that what it's all about? 

I started the week with some words from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and it seems appropriate to finish the same way:

“There is something about very cold weather that gives one an enormous appetite. Most of us find ourselves beginning to crave rich steaming stews and hot apple pies and all kinds of delicious warming dishes; and because we are all a great deal luckier than we realize, we usually get what we want—or near enough.”