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The health benefits of chocolate
For our ninth episode, we are going to talk about chocolate!
When asked what I advocate in nutrition, I often mention diversity, plant-based plates and … pleasure!
“Pleasure is also a yield“, says Bill Mollison, one of the founders of permaculture. If there is no pleasure in cooking, everything is dead and disenchanted.
And what better than chocolate to illustrate how much pleasure is essential?
For most of us, chocolate is a great love story and a delight. 12 kilos is the amount of chocolate consumed every second by the French.
This would be equivalent to 8 times the weight of the Titanic each year. 93% of French households buy chocolate, 33% in bars and 19% in spreads. And if 98% of the French like it, 30% of them prefer dark chocolate.
But did you know it also has nutritional benefits?
For a long time, it was consumed for its medicinal properties. In fact, it has been listed in the pharmacopeia since 1886. It particularly has stimulating, relaxing, antidepressant, and antioxidant virtues.
The guest: Victoire Finaz (aka The Chocologist)
Coming from a family of Lyonnaise chocolatiers, Victoire grew up with a little spoon in her mouth. At 8 years old, she toured the best chocolatiers with her father.
During her psychology training, she wrote a thesis on Chocolate Expertise. She then trained alongside the greatest chocolatiers.
She travels to cocoa plantations in Bolivia, Mexico, and Guatemala and specializes at Ferrandi school, alongside Pierre Hermé.
Victoire then invents her profession and becomes a Chocologist. She trains individuals and professionals, creates recipes, and launches her own brand, Les Carrés Victoire.
Ten years later, in 2018, Victoire wrote her first book “SUPER CHOCOLAT” from which I quote Pierre Hermé’s preface: “Victoire loves chocolate. She loves it so much that she has drawn her life around it. How could she have done otherwise, she who only talks about cocoa. Since our first meeting, about fifteen years ago, when she was a student and was working on her thesis on Chocolate Expertise, Victoire has constantly matched her pace with that of cocoa, becoming a key figure in the field and a recognized chocolate critic among her peers. A Chocologist. To my knowledge, the only one in the world.
My questions
- How did you fall into the chocolate pot?
- What does it mean to be a Chocologist?
- To begin, can you tell us in a few words the difference between dark, milk, and white chocolate?
- Can you tell us about the nutritional benefits of chocolate, and particularly cocoa?
- Are there more benefits in raw versus roasted cocoa?
- Can you tell us about the diversity of chocolates, origins, and typicities?
- We’ve already talked about fermentations and sourdough here. I believe chocolate also undergoes fermentation. Can you tell us about it?
- How to properly read the ingredient list of a chocolate?
- What would be your advice to stay slim while loving chocolate?
- How to taste chocolate?
- What drinks to pair it with?
- Where to buy your chocolate?
- Can you share a savory and a sweet recipe that you particularly love?
Resources to go further
- Les Carrés Victoire, Victoire’s chocolate brand.
- Super Chocolat (Editions Mango), her book.
(R)Evolutionary Food podcasts are presented by Louise Browaeys
An agronomy engineer (AgroParisTech) specializing in nutrition, Louise has been working for ten years in the sectors of agriculture, food, and ecology.
She is the author or co-author of several books on topics of food, ecology, permaculture, and corporate social responsibility. Including: “The Share of the Earth: Agriculture as Art” (Delachaux and Niestlé, 2014), “Permaculture Daily” (Terre Vivante, 2018), “The Planetary Diet” (La Plage, 2020).
