Your calendar might not show it, but World Nutella Day is this week, February 5.
Now in its eighth year, the celebration was founded by Sara Rosso, an American foodie living in Italy, who decided that the creamy, hazelnut-chocolate spread deserved its own day of recognition. Now co-hosted with Calabria-based writer Michelle Fabio, the holiday launched in 2007 has grown. It has its own website, Facebook page with more then 42,000 likes, Flickr photo stream, Pinterest page, and of course, a Twitter hashtag.
“Nutella is more than a chocolaty, hazelnut spread. It is a way of life,” the website proclaims.
(For the record, the fan-based World Nutella Day is not affiliated with the makes of Nutella, Ferrero SpA.)
Now, those of you who are purists may take your Nutella straight up with no embellishments, but if you’re willing to experiment, the website offers over 700 Nutella-flavored cookies, cupcakes, frostings, and more.
Try a frozen banana dipped in Nutella and rolled in coconut from Bell’alimento. Or how about a bacon and Nutella sandwich from the Unrepentant Carnivore? If you want something savory, there’s even a recipe for chicken enchiladas with Nutella mole poblano from the Wandering Chopsticks. Like coffee and cocktails? They’ve got that covered, too with recipes from showfoodchef.com.
Matthew Glidden is ready. He’s participating for the sixth year, according to his Twitter feed, where he’s posted a photo of the “spread” he’s laid out. Up in Toronto at theCafé con Leche Espresso Bar, they’re offering free Nutella lattes on February 5.
Need more inspiration? You can download The Unofficial Guide to Nutella for your Kindle, FREE for a limited time on amazon.com, and start perfecting your own recipes. Even if you miss this year’s holiday, you can’t say you didn’t get enough notice for the next one. World Nutella Day 2015 will be here before you know it.
