One morning in spring before sunrise, in the small town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, Reynaud the uptight minister, and staunch keeper of the rule of God, is found in the most unusual position. He is sprawled in the middle of the chocolate display of the La Celeste Praline Chocolaterie Artisanale. With his face against the glass shop front and smothered in chocolate, to the town’s mystified onlookers, it looks like he has been swimming in it.
What is it about this scene from Chocolat that is comical yet so revealing about our love for chocolate? What is it about chocolate that led Gandhi to bemoan that he saw, “death in choco lates,” because it was “heating,” that is, of the fires of passion.
The history of the origins of chocolate may offer insights into how this delectable of all foods came to be associated with, “the fires of passion.”
The Olmecs of southern Mexico were the first to ferment, roast and grind cacao beans for drinks, as early as 1500 B.C, according to some sources. From here, the bean found its way to the Mayans of Guatemala, Yucatan and the surrounding areas, and to the 15th Century rulers, of which the most famous are the Aztecs. The Aztecs conquered Mesoamerica (parts of Mexico and Central America), habited by the Mayans. They acquired from the Mayans their cacao production and rituals of consumption. In the True History of Chocolate, the authors tell the story of the Aztec conquest of the province of Xoconocho, “already famed for the high production and top quality of its cacao.”
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