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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
After looking over the entire spread, a senior opts for a brownie…
Supposedly, the connection between chocolate and Valentine’s Day began when Richard Cadbury, desperate for a way to get rid of the cocoa butter that was left over after making his chocolate drink, created “eating chocolates” and put them in heart-shaped boxes. The idea was that when the chocolates were done, you could fill the box with love letters or trinkets from your lover.
Although that tradition doesn’t seem to have caught on, the connection between chocolate and Valentine’s Day has lodged itself into American culture and was on full display at the Medfield Council on Aging during February 14, when the COA held its annual chocolate tasting event. At the chocolate tasting, local Medfield bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores donated chocolate treats for the seniors to sample after the Medfield Council on Aging set up a beautiful, diverse display.
Medfield seniors peruse the massive spread at the Council on Aging’s chocolate tasting event.
While there were obvious items - like cakes and cookies - the variety of chocolate foods was overwhelming. There were chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate mousses, brownies, cannoli, and even butter pecan ice cream scoops in phyllo shells. The crowd favorite was, by far, the chocolate-covered strawberries, which were gone almost immediately after the crowd was let in, while the cakes were so well made that people were hesitant to be the first to cut into them and ruin the aesthetics.
The generosity of the businesses involved was not lost on the seniors that attended the event. “This is the second one of these we’ve attended, and we’ve really enjoyed them thanks to the generosity of the bakeries and restaurants in town,” said Westwood resident Richard Connolly.
…while another opts for mousse.
“It’s a wonderful display, it’s absolutely beautiful,” Ann Johnson declared. “I really can’t say enough about what they do.”
While there were no heart-shaped boxes to fill with love letters as Richard Cadbury intended, because the generosity of the Medfield Council on Aging and the various businesses that donated food for the event, their mailboxes will be filled with “thank you” notes from some very full seniors.
