CHOCOLATE - York's Sweet Story

CHOCOLATE – YORK’S SWEET STORY

When it comes to having a sweet tooth, Britain is one of the world leaders. On average we each eat around 20lb (9kg) of chocolate per year. And we eat another 10lb of other sweets and confectionery.

York is a city with a long association with chocolate and confectionery – it will be forever associated with Rowntree’s, Terry’s and Craven’s – and some of their famous brands. Kit Kat, All Gold, Craven’s Humbugs, Polo Mints, Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Rowntree’s Fruit Gums and Pastilles and, of course, the appropriately named Yorkie bar.

An early edition of Kit Kat. The Japanese are big fans and make 45 different versions including wasabi flavour - picture courtesy of CHOCOLATE - York's Sweet Story

And now a new visitor attraction called “CHOCOLATE – York’s Sweet Story” is opening in April this year near the Shambles in the city centre to celebrate York’s involvement in confectionery manufacture over the years.

The new attraction will tell York’s candy-coated history and take visitors on a trip stretching thousands of miles and hundreds of years to when the beans of the cacao plant were brought back from the rainforests of South America by European travellers.

It’s a story with a mix of Aztecs and Mayans, Quakers and strong-minded businessmen and women, and hundreds of thousands of the people of York over the years. York’s association with chocolate changed the city irrevocably – at one time more than 14,000 of York’s workforce worked for Rowntree’s – making it one of the largest of the City’s employers. Visitors to the attraction will be able to learn the stories of the people who worked for the confectioners and see photographs of the factories they worked in and the products they made – some with familiar names, but different packaging, and others which are no longer made.

CHOCOLATE – York’s Sweet Story will also show visitors how chocolate is made, and the different processes which go into making a bar of our favourite self-indulgence, and will also teach them about the fine art of chocolate tasting!

Did you know that the Quaker called Mary Tuke opened a grocery store which sold cocoa and this led to the foundation of Rowntree’s? Or that Craven’s French Almond Works had a big impact on 1950 fashions? And if two men called Terry and Berry hadn’t met we might never had Chocolate Oranges in our Christmas stockings? You can find out the how and why of all of this and much, much more at CHOCOLATE – York’s Sweet Story from April 2012.

Oh, and you’ll also be able to see the very cocoa tin that Captain Scott took to the Antarctic on his last tragic journey.

And, finally, chocolate gives you a more intense buzz (and a longer-lasting one) than kissing according to research conducted by Dr David Lewis at the Mind Lab. It not only boosts levels of a brain chemical called phenylethylamine which can raise the levels of the pleasure-giving substances called endorphins but it also contains flavonoids which help protect against heart disease. So as long as it’s eaten in moderation, it’s good for the heart and the mind.

CHOCOLATE – York’s Sweet Story will open in King’s Square, York in April 2012. Group rates are available, and you can find out more here.

And if you’d like holiday accommodation in York, check out these York hotels and York B&Bs.