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History is coming full circle: borrowed from the Aztecs four centuries ago and perfected for the palate by the Europeans, chocolate is conquering new worlds, with sales booming from Asia to Brazil.
Every second, 95 tonnes of chocolate are wolfed down around the world, or three million tonnes a year, according to figures supplied by the annual Salon du Chocolat fair, which kicks off today in Paris.
The globalisation of chocolate is most striking in Japan, where annual sales are soaring by 25 per cent and French chocolatiers are feted like stars while their Japanese counterparts now rank among the world’s best.
“Japan has converted en masse to chocolate in the past decade, with chocolate Salons in seven different cities,” said Francois Jeantet, co-founder of the Paris fair.
For the Salon’s annual fashion show featuring life-sized chocolate dresses, this year’s offering is a kimono-inspired number created by French chocolatier Frederic Cassel.
The 15-kilo edible dress – a month in the making – will be slipped on just moments before the show, lest it should melt under the spotlights. Afterwards, it will be shipped straight to Japan.
Some 200 chefs from around the world are set to converge on Paris for the 18th edition of the fair, which draws some 100,000 visitors each year.
