Festive Recipe Competition

I have been thinking about chocolate and Christmas and consequently my childhood experiences of chocolate.

Back in the 1950s and 60s gifts we lived on a farm outside Gisborne and collected our mail from the Patutahi Post office. Parcels came wrapped in brown paper and string. Inside the outer wrapping the gift would be wrapped in Christmas paper. A box of chocolate could be clearly identified before the Christmas paper was removed. Nothing else sounded like a box of chocolates when it was shaken and no other gift was going to be the shape of a box of chocolates. Once presents arrived at the farm they were put under the Christmas tree until Christmas morning. By this time we were really looking forward to seeing which variety of chocolate was in the box. The caramels and nuts were always eaten first and there were rules to be obeyed – the second layer could not be enjoyed before the whole of the first layer was eaten. Cadburys, Nestle, Aulsebrooks and Queen Anne were available at this time but there were no handmade chocolate companies that we knew of. In our household chocolate was eaten only at Christmas so we had about eleven months before the next chocolate treat could be savoured.

Apart from commercials chocolates that came in a box – and these were the highlight of Christmas, I recall our festive food consisting of a huge Christmas ham that my poor mother cooked in the old copper, trifle and homemade icecream. I am sure that vegetables and fruit were included somewhere in the menu but I can’t recall them.  However, I do know that they would have been fresh from the vegetable garden.

This lead me to considering the chocolate recipes that we would put  on our website for the festive season this year.  Instead of me posting chocolate recipes, I thought our readers may like to contribute their favourite festive recipes that include chocolate and/or cocoa. All recipes will be tested and the most popular amongst our staff will be posted on the website.

I am really looking forward to the variety that will be submitted, New Zealand is a much more multicultural society than it was in the 1950s and it will be interesting to see the origins of your recipes – please tell me when you use them and the origins of the recipe.

All recipes sent to us by the 25th of November 2012 will go in the draw to win a copy of my book "For the love of chocolate" and one of our Chocolatier's Assortments, we have 5 sets to give away.

Please send your recipes to severitt@devonportchocolates.co.nz, please include your physical delivery address ( no box numbers please), and phone number.