Chocolate may seem like a no-brainer for Valentine’s Day, but to Tom Parfitt, chocolatier and instructor at the University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts, it’s a way of life.

LONDON Scientists unveiled yesterday what they hope will be one of the world’s fastest biofuel vehicles, powered by waste from chocolate factories and made partly from plant fibers. The car’s makers hope the racer will go 145 mph and give manufacturers ideas about how to build more ecologically friendly vehicles. The car runs on vegetable oils and chocolate waste that has been turned into biofuel. The steering wheel is made out of plant-based fibers derived from carrots and other root vegetables, and the seat is built of flax fiber and soybean oil foam. The body is also made of plant fibers.

By: Barbara Passino
  Publisher: The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection Ltd.
  Price: $40 Pages: 288 Recipes worth trying: Chocolate-Chocolate Pancakes, Page 209; Chocolate Banana Strudel, Page 120

ART 180, which provides art-related programs for young people living in challenging circumstances, is selling candy for Valentine’s Day—with a twist.  The wrappers for the chocolate bars were designed by ART 180 supporters as part of the organization’s 10th-anniversary project last fall, “Change for a Ten.“ The submissions represented their artistic visions for community change.

It’s a well-known scientific fact that you can eat as much rich, dark chocolate as you want on Valentine’s Day and not gain any weight. Something to do with the winter phases of the moon and the way photosynthesis affects cocoa beans in months beginning with the letter F.

WILLIAMSBURG In early Virginia, handmade chocolate was a hard-earned treat. Well, maybe not so hard for most of those enjoying the treat.

Looking for an easy homemade treat to serve guests? Laura Julian of Manakin-Sabot has just the candy recipe for you. She calls it “Dark Chocolate Bark” or “Espresso Bark.“ It’s “a fraction of the cost from a candy store and takes only a few minutes of actual effort,“ she said. The main ingredient is a chocolate bar. A large Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate bar is her preference, but anything similar will work fine, too. Buy them on sale, Julian said.