PARIS, July 16 (Reuters Life!) - A French air hostess will become one of Europe's pioneer space tourists after picking a chocolate wrapper out of the rubbish and finding a winning number in a competition to fly to the upper reaches of the earth's atmosphere.

Mathilde Epron, 32, said she had bought a Kit Kat chocolate bar at her local supermarket but initially threw the wrapper in the bin, telling herself that "it's only others who win".

Two hours later, thinking back to the competition, she decided to try her luck and fished the wrapper out of the bin, only to find a code marked inside.

"For someone who works in air travel it's really a dream come true", she told France Info radio.

A spokeswoman for Nestle in France confirmed that Epron had won the prize to take a flight on a four-seater, fighter-sized aircraft built by Rocketplane, a company that builds aircraft intended to provide cheap flights into space.

She will receive four days of astronaut training in Oklahoma City in the United States before boarding the Rocketplane XP aircraft which will reach an altitude of 100 km (60 miles) and allow a five-minute experience of weightlessness. (Reporting by Joseph Tandy; Editing by James Mackenzie)

Unwrapping the Chocolate Genome
Mars Seeks Tougher Cacao Trees

To save chocolate lovers from the agony of a potential candy bar shortage, McLean candy giant Mars is investing $10 million in a five-year project to develop cacao trees that fight drought, disease and poor harvests.

( Read more... )

I've just stumbled into the chocolate videos at Taste TV. Let's see if their imbedded code-copy option works.... this is a chocolate fashion show.

Edit: Yay! It works. There's other chocolate videos in the website, if you're interested in peeking in.

International Chocolate Salon Highlights Ten Days of Chocolate

TEN DAYS OF CHOCOLATE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

If you love chocolate, this will be a dream come true!

The San Francisco International CHOCOLATE SALON, July 14 and 15, 2007, will be the highlight of ten days of chocolate events across the Bay Area. During the week leading up to the International Chocolate Salon, Bloomingdale's San Francisco will present daily chocolate recipe demonstrations in its kitchen, and local restaurants, bars and clubs will offer "Chocolate Specials" on dishes, drinks, and desserts. In addition, hair salons and spas will create "Chocolate Experiences," and ice cream parlors and bakers will spotlight chocolate specialties.

The San Francisco International Chocolate Salon happens on Bastille Day Weekend, July 14 & 15, at the Fort Mason Conference Center. Highlights include chocolate tastings, wine pairings, and a chocolate spa and fashion show.

The San Francisco International CHOCOLATE SALON takes place on Bastille Day Weekend, July 14 and 15, 2007 at the Fort Mason Conference Center in San Francisco. Chocolate aficionados, fanatics, buyers and journalists will experience the finest in artisan, gourmet & premium chocolate in one of the world's great culinary metropolitan areas.

International Chocolate Salon participants include NEWTREE Gourmet Belgian Chocolate, Lillie Belle Farms Artisan Chocolates, Theo Chocolate, San Francisco Chocolate Factory, XOX Truffles, Grand Avenue Chocolates, MarieBelle Fine Treats and Chocolates, DeBrito Chocolate Factory, The TeaRoom Chocolate Truffles, Terra Nostra Organic Chocolate, Gelato Classico, Coco Délice Fine Chocolates, Serendipity Chocolates, L'Artisan du chocolat, Poco Dolce, Cosmic Chocolate, Coco-luxe Confections, Saratoga Chocolates, Charles Chocolates, Quady Winery, Silkwood Wines, Four Vines Winery, Steele Wines, Sol Rouge Winery, C'est Tres Chic Chocolate Molds, Le Creuset, Swissmar, Putumayo World Music, Chocolate Television and TasteTV.

The Salon will also include a Chocolate Awards Tasting Panel and an evening Charity Fund-raiser, featuring a Chocolate Fashion Show and champagne.

The San Francisco International CHOCOLATE SALON is July 14 & 15, 2007, Fort Mason Conference Center, San Francisco. Tickets $20 for adults. Saturday July 14th, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m, Sunday July 15th, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. For Salon information, or for the menu of ten days of chocolate events, go to www.SFChocolateSalon.com.

Here are three articles my esteemed spousal unit found about Hershey plant closings. This news has some people quite upset, I know. I've gotten some rather interesting emails at my cocoajava.com address on the topic.

Here are the three articles on the Hershey plant closings. They're closing them to become more efficient because all these facilities were operating at less than half their capacity. -- caribouken - CocoaJava Ace Reporter

( Articles are behind the cut... )