 Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. Let’s crunch some numbers on America’s Easter candy consumption. The National Confectioners Association offers the following stats: 
 Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. On Valentine’s Day, the question isn’t whether you’re going to eat any chocolate; the question is how much? If you need something to strive for, the record for the world’s largest chocolate heart is waiting to be broken: It was set back in 2004 in Madrid, by the seven metric ton heart from Match.com. But there are infinite kinds of chocolate to indulge in on this great holiday; you don’t need to confine yourself to hearts. The following is a gift guide for all kinds of chocolate lovers, from the pizza fanatics to the sports junkies to the very, very rich.
 Step aside, Willy Wonka. According to its creator, Vosges chocolate is not just chocolate, it's "an experiential chocolate story-telling vehicle that's meant to be indulgent and sensual and opening to the mind." More than that, 38-year-old company founder Katrina Markoff intends to "break down stereotypes through chocolate." Having traveled around the world, Markoff's goal is to get people to try the exotic flavors she discovered, something that's more achievable if those flavors are enrobed in chocolate.  Good news, java junkies: Researchers have found the more coffee you drink, the more you may be protecting yourself against skin cancer. According to a new report published in the journal Cancer Research, drinking more caffeinated coffee could lower your chances of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.  Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. If you’re one of those people who rate holidays on the candy scale, Easter scores high. In fact, I’d rank it the second best candy holiday, right behind Halloween. (What, I wonder, is the worst candy holiday? I hate to think about it.) The numbers back me up. - This year, Americans will spend $2.1 billion on Easter candy. That’s 120 million pounds of the stuff. - There should be no shortage of key Easter confections: 16 billion jelly beans and 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies have been made for the holiday. - In the category of good to know: seventy six percent of Americans think you should eat chocolate bunny ears first. While you figure out how you’re making a dent in those excellent statistics, which come straight from statisticbrain.com, here are some other monumental Easter sweets.
 Chocolate is one of life's greatest pleasures, but for the children working in slavery conditions in cacao fields across West Africa's Ivory Coast, the reality behind it is anything but sweet. Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate. The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween - 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season. So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family's Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away?
 We asked you to make a dish with ethically produced chocolate, and the results left our mouths watering. But more than that, we were proud that so many people took the time to learn about child slavery in the chocolate industry. A total of 65 entries came in, encompassing sweet and savory combinations (chocolate covered bacon) regionally distinctive recipes (chocolate sourdough bread) and deliciously simple snacks (chocolate dipped fruit and nuts). CNN Freedom Project editorial director Leif Coorlim, Cacao Atlanta owner Kristen Hard and Eatocracy managing editor Kat Kinsman picked three winners based on originality, presentation, regional emphasis and story.  When tragic crime struck two neighboring Atlanta businesses last week, leaving a shop owner dead and a community in shock, residents turned to food to raise spirits and help survivors. The result was a crowd-sourced bake sale to benefit one of the affected businesses, Sugar Coated Radical, a self-described "libertine confection shop" that has earned national press for creating "honest" chocolate from organic, fairly traded and locally sourced raw materials. The event, also known as a "cash mob," drew hundreds of well-wishers on Sunday who bought baked goods to help the business recoup money lost in a robbery. Other small businesses donated coffee for sale and a food truck from which to sell the surplus of baked goods prepared by Sugar Coated Radical. Volunteers staffed the cash register.  Tens of thousands of children toil in cocoa fields in the Ivory Coast, some against their will, to create the chocolate bars that many of us enjoy. In a CNN Freedom Project investigation, David McKenzie traveled to the West African country and discovered that despite promises the global chocolate industry made a decade ago to end forced labor, there are still child slaves harvesting cocoa, even though some have never tasted chocolate and some don't even know what the word "chocolate" means. It can be hard to find ethically produced cocoa, but the "fair trade" designation helps ensures that farmers receive a fair price and prohibits the use of slave and child labor. We invite you to create a dish using fair trade chocolate, with bonus points to those who make a delicacy that’s special to their country or region.  Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. See all our best Valentine's Day dining advice Residents of Knoxville, Tennessee, you are lucky this Valentine’s Day. Amazon.com just released a list of the 20 most romantic cities in the country, and you’re number one! Ranked second is Alexandria, Virginia; Springfield, Missouri, is third. This list is based on a mash-up of key signifiers, including sales of romance novels, romantic comedy DVDs and Barry White albums. If you don’t live in any of those cities, and especially if you’re based in New York City, Paterson, New Jersey, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, or El Monte, California - ranked the country’s least romantic cities - you need to start thinking hard about extreme Valentine’s Day gifts. Here, then, is a sampling of super advanced chocolates that say I love you so, so, so, so much, even if we live in New York and aren’t buying enough Barry White albums.
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