Still trying to banish those January Blues? Well, I reckon I might just have the answer, although with only a few more days to go of the most miserable month of the year, it’s better late than never.
Yep, drum roll, today is NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CAKE DAY and from Black Forest Gateau and Devil’s Food Cake to Garash and Sachertorte, we actually have an excuse to stuff our faces in celebration.
Now, apparently, chocolate cake was actually first invented in 1764 but it wasn’t until 1947 when Betty Crocker released a pre-made chocolate cake mix that everyone could grab a slice of the action. (This column is nothing if not educational.)
That is according to the NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CAKE DAY website – look it up if you don’t believe there is such a thing – which points out this particular day was designed as an opportunity for chocolate and cake lovers to pay homage to this invention. Indeed, it was only with the discovery that sweetening chocolate created a delicious dish that we even have this most beloved of desserts.
And, with today also being National Fun at Work Day, what better way to piss off the UK Food Standards Agency than to bring in a massive CHOCOLATE CAKE to cheer yourselves and your colleagues up?
You see, last week the body responsible for food safety and food hygiene in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland started advising businesses to banish cake and other sugary treats from the office, with the FSA chief, professor Susan Jebb, likening this habit to passive smoking.
She recently told a gathering of lemmings: “If nobody brought cakes into the office, I would not eat cakes in the day. But because people do bring cakes in, I eat them. Now, OK, I have made a choice, but people were making a choice to go into a smoky pub.
“With smoking, after a very long time we have got to a place where we understand that individuals have to make some effort but that we can make their efforts more successful by having a supportive environment. But we still don’t feel like that about food.”
Cue a mass gnashing of teeth and so much outrage that Professor Jubb responded by writing an article in The Times under the headline: “Forget cakegate! We need to take obesity seriously.”
To be fair, I couldn’t agree more, being a fatty is a serious business. Just one slip and you can find yourself losing weight…and the cost of buying a whole new wardrobe is certainly no laughing matter!
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