Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Cordillera Chocolate

Bon Appétit celebrated Valentine’s Day last week at American University in Washington, DC, by hosting an event that focused on the best part of this holiday: Chocolate! But not just any old chocolate.

The team at American worked overtime to provide a beautiful display featuring cookies, brownies, cakes, fudge, chocolate covered strawberries, even whoopee pies – all made using the delicious and Fair Trade Certified™ Colombian Cordillera Chocolate. (I recently got to visit Cordillera’s birthplace, which I wrote about in a series of posts here.)

There were gluten free as well as vegan options, so everyone left the table with a plate full of desserts and a smile on their face.

Many students opted for a plate full of desserts for dinner

Ellie Yanagisawa, president of American University’s Fair Trade Student Association, joined me in telling students why the desserts they were enjoying were not only good-tasting but good-doing. I shared what I learned about the chocolate from my recent trip to Colombia, and Ellie and I talked with students about Bon Appétit’s commitment to Fair Trade, why it matters, and other actions around Fair Trade that American University is taking. We shared pictures and information about the chocolate, and even gave away recipes for students to take and try on their own!

It was so much fun seeing student’s faces light up when they saw tables upon tables of mouth-watering chocolate desserts. I was honored to be able to report that the chocolate was environmentally and socially responsible, so we could all enjoy it while feeling good about the type of practices we were supporting.