December 31 – National Champagne Day

National Champagne Day

Facts on Champagne

National Champagne Day falls on New Years Eve, perhaps because the two make an obvious pairing.
Champagne is associated with celebrations, so it is no surprise it was and still is the drink of choice for the festivities.
Outside of New Year’s, sparkling wine is perhaps most popularly drunk at brunch in the form of a Mimosa.
By law, to accurately be called Champagne, the grapes used in the production of the wine must come from the Champagne region of France. If not it is called sparkling wine.
Champagne pairs very well with rich or oily foods, even Pizza!

December 14 – National Bouillabaisse Day

National Bouillabaisse Day

Facts on Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a rich French fish stew, traditionally associated with the Provence region, especially Marseilles.
Bouillabaisse contains various fish and shellfish, olive oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, white wine, saffron and herbs.
Bouillabaisse originally was a stew made by Marseille fishermen using the bony rock fish which they were unable to sell to restaurants or markets.
As Marseille became more prosperous, restaurants and hotels began to serve bouillabaisse to upper class patrons and the recipe became more refined.
The name bouillabaisse comes from the method of the preparation — the ingredients are not added all at once.

National Cocoa Day

Food Facts on Cocoa

Cocoa beans are the fruit of the cacao tree. Cacao beans were called cocoa beans and not cacao beans due to a spelling mistake made by English importers in the 18th century when chocolate first became popular.
Every stage of cocoa production is done by hand: planting, irrigating, harvesting, fermenting and drying. Another reason why fine chocolate justifies its price.
Over 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, which provides the bulk of cocoa used for mass-produced chocolate.
It takes 3 to 5 years before the cocoa tree bears fruit. EACH TREE produces around 1,000 beans a year, but that is only enough to make just 1 kg of chocolate.
It takes 4 cacao seeds to make 1 ounce of milk chocolate, and 12 seeds to make 1 ounce of dark chocolate.