When you notice a need, you sometimes have to look hard to find a resource you can offer into the situation. For us, that resource turned out to be chocolate.
We make hot chocolate the Colombian way: melting real chocolate buttons with milk over a gas flame, whisking it constantly with a wooden molinillo. There's a flavour for everyone, from a creamy white or sweet caramel, all the way through to a deep, earthy 100% dark chocolate, with everything in between. If you need to come back a few times to find your perfect cup, I don’t think you’ll mind, and neither will we!
This rich, complex and carefully prepared blend is my perfect metaphor for true, generous action – a warm, deeply committed act of love, carefully crafted for those who need it most.
My mum, Linda, and I started Chocolate & Co out of a deep sense of purpose after the heartbreak of losing two people we loved dearly to addiction during lockdown. We felt we absolutely had to do something constructive with that grief.
Linda had a background in chocolate, so a café serving brilliant hot chocolate in York felt like a natural fit. We intentionally set up shop in an area of York that needed regeneration, right near a hostel and the probation office. Our purpose is to offer paid employment, training and mentoring to people who are rebuilding their lives from addiction, homelessness or a criminal record.
If I had to sum up what we do at Chocolate & Co, I’d start with a young woman named Jamie. We met her when she was staying in a hostel of mainly men, trying to find her footing after some tough times. When Jamie first started working with us, the joy for us wasn’t just seeing her learning how to serve the perfect hot drink or use the till, but about watching her start to believe in her own future. The biggest milestone for us was seeing her move out of the hostel and secure a stable, full-time job at a local chocolate factory.
Our generosity here always has to be holistic; it’s impossible to hold down employment if other things in life are out of control. We often find ourselves helping people cleaning or painting a new flat, finding carpet or sourcing furniture so that a set of keys becomes a real home that feels safe and treasured. We are committed to seeing the person they are, not just the past they are leaving behind.
So, as you take on today’s 40acts challenge with a simple bar of chocolate, think bigger. What skill, insight or resource could you offer as a blessing to someone else?
Ours happened to be chocolate. Yours might take you somewhere unexpected too.
Mariah and Linda, Co-founders
Chocolate & Co
Reflect
‘…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Pray
- Pray with thanks for all God has provided.
- Ask God to show you someone who could use encouragement or appreciation.
- Thank Him that generosity and gratitude always lead to joy.
Act
A generosity challenge for you to complete today:
| It’s Chocolate Tuesday! Buy some chocolate and give it away – to one person, ten or even forty. Use it to say thanks, break the ice or bless someone who needs a lift. |
About Chocolate & Co
After losing two friends to addiction during the isolation of the pandemic, mum and daughter duo Mariah and Linda knew they had to act.
Rooted in lived experience and driven by love, Chocolate & Co challenge the stigma surrounding addiction by offering employment, community and connection in York.
