“She cradled it with her lips to slowly suck the thick, dark chocolate covering, before letting it enter her mouth completely.” F. Leonora Solomon, ‘Chocolate Covered’ from Chemical Sex Anthology

Chef, Ellie Masters, in my novella A Taste For Three, has a complex relationship with food. It is comfort and succour for her, as well as being sensually satisfying. I wanted to delve into this idea by inviting someone to talk about their personal relationship with food.

There was only one person I wanted to ask to do this guest post. This lady has a beautifully sensual writing style and I know she is a fellow food lover. So I asked, and she answered – “of course!” – because that’s how kind and generous she is. So without any further ado, here’s F. Leonora Solomon….

I am not a scientist, but I do believe there is a strong correlation between personality and appetite. Since I am not a scientist, I am going to give you life examples. I have a voracious and expansive appetite, and love to try new (combinations of) food. I eat high and low brow, I am not a complete food snob. Cooking is a favorite pastime of mine as well. To me, if you like to eat, the desire to prepare food should be intuitive. Maybe I should say I have a fascination with food, in some ways I treat it like it is sacred. I never eat on the run, I always sit down and savor my meals.

I had grasshopper salt on a margarita once, and ate delicious rabbit at a cafe in Quebec. As a omnivore, I do not think I should be elitist about what types of living things I consume—well, to a point. I would not like to be eaten, or to eat another human…not ingested I should specify! Additionally, I respect people who do not have a diet like mine. I have found bliss via vegetarian and vegan cuisines. I love exploring food.

People have judged what I eat, but it does not bother me. It is personal, the same way sexual desires are. I think sex should be explored the same way food is, without limitations, and with a willingness to try things that do not sound like they would be otherwise appealing.

My one food snobbery? I have to say I cannot connect deeply with a man who does not like chocolate. To be fair, I am open but I have never been able to. Eating chocolate…I wish you could see me for a demonstration…imagine my mouth is wide open. I am reaching far back with my finger, to the spot where chocolate dissolves like an orgasm on my tongue.

Pause.

Okay, I am back. I cannot intimately connect with a man who does not like chocolate. I have good friends and family who don’t, and that is fine. I am not intimate with them. This is not to say that I have not been attracted to men who do not like chocolate, but there is something in their constitution that always fails me. And the chocolate thing is not a deal maker either. I have liked men who do like chocolate, but combined with other attributes, it was not successful.

One man made fun of me for my “fancy” palate and I dislike people who make fun of me for basic characteristics. Well, I dislike being made fun of in general, and he made a sport of it for a lot of things, including my writing, and he did not even know what I write.

The Chocolate Show that I attended in New York dispelled some notions I had about chocolate, I met some people there who were not what I expected chocolate lovers to be like at all…But chocolate still works as a fool-proof barometer for me of where things can go with a man. There are other factors. It is not an exact science, because I am not a scientist!

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. A BIG thanks to Leonora (you should totally read Chemical Sex it’s a brilliant anthology – see my review here) and now I’m off to suck on some chocolate, maybe lick it and nibble it a bit – you know – just because it makes me feel good 😉

Rebecca x