The Cocoa Route Colombia airing on the Gourmet channel

The use of cocoa and chocolate in Colombian cuisine, as well as their growth and benefits when eaten, are some of the topics for discussion by Mexican chocolate specialist Jose Ramon Castillo on the Cocoa Route Colombia, which began to air on the Gourmet Channel.

The series comprises seven chapters airing every Wednesday at 8:00 pm, and re-airing on Fridays (10:30 pm) and Saturdays (9:00 pm) on the international channel, where the 23-day trek on Colombian soil by the Mexican chocolate expert will be highlighted.

“I started taping the Cocoa Route in Mexico in May 2010. It was a very ambitious project by El Gourmet channel, so successful that six months later, in December, the Cocoa Route - Ecuador was filmed. This year we began taping the Cocoa Route Colombia. I was very happy to do it and felt great responsibility as a foreigner showing the good side of the country; viewers will see a beautiful, happy, clean and very safe Colombia, with great potential for production,” said Jose Ramon.

During the programs, which were recorded with support from PROCOLOMBIA, viewers will be able to fully appreciate the use of national cocoa in the country’s cuisine, as well as the replacement of illegal crops with this product and the positive stories resulting from this activity.

“I love the country and am very respectful to Colombia; I want to show everyone the role cocoa plays in Colombia, because this is a unique opportunity the country has to become a cocoa power within the next five years: They produce, and consume all of their production; they are still able to export and are starting to grow more hectares of cocoa fields; they are doing perfectly as far as the best way to generate more cocoa, and if this activity is encouraged and Colombians are taught the benefits of consuming cocoa, all the better, considering their coverage and the grain itself are very good," said the Mexican expert.

Chocolate has a lot of benefits, it is not a pain promoter, it is an excellent antioxidant, an energy booster and makes people feel good; it lowers cholesterol levels and, according to Jose Ramon, it is very helpful to "consume meals with high concentration of cocoa in the mornings."

Viewers will be able to watch his tour around Bogota, Pereira, Bucaramanga, San Vicente de Chucuri, Medellin, Barichara and Cartagena. The music on the show is 100% Colombian and the country’s great gastronomic potential in cocoa will be displayed.

“They are doing things very well, with perfect fermentations, their own, very well made coverage, showing once again that Colombians have a culture of doing things right," said Jose Ramon.

National growers, clone and graft experts, among others, participated during the show, displaying the love for chocolate and the use cocoa has in Colombian cuisine. “To drink chocolate is something I didn’t know before," said Jose Ramon.