Chocolate therapist Murray Langham was in Dunedin yesterday for the Cadbury Chocolate Carnival to help people learn how their favourite treat was connected to their personality.
Mr Langham, or Dr Chocolate as he is sometimes known, began his journey into chocolate therapy more than 30 years ago after watching a group of children struggle to pick one chocolate each before going to bed.
As a practising therapist, he helped many people with weight issues and the consumption of chocolate kept coming up.
Following some research, he concluded different chocolates indicated different personality traits.
What started as a joke became a serious business for him when he found "it actually works".
"Life is too short to be serious all the time."
He published two books in seven languages on the subject and frequently toured America and Europe conducting workshops and speaking at corporate events.
During sessions he asked people to select four favourite chocolates. Based on flavour and shape of their choice, he determined aspects of their personality, the "shape pattern of a person".
This allowed them to learn about themselves and change themselves if they wanted to.
"Hard caramels" were said to be methodical, so if someone wanted to move away from that behaviour, they could select a coconut chocolate, which would make them more artistic.
Even how the wrapper was treated indicated a part of someone's personality, he said.
If the wrapper was rolled into a ball, the person was said to be bored and in need of excitement. If it was folded, the person was structured.
Based in the Wairarapa, Mr Langham also runs a gourmet chocolate company which "paid the bills" while he focused on his "passion" of chocolate therapy.
He held three different workshops yesterday: one talked about releasing the guilt of eating chocolate, one focused on chocolate centres and one analysed both flavours and shapes to unveil true personalities.
• What does your favourite chocolate say about you?
Almond lovers: Assertive, dominant, changeable.
Coffee lovers: Philosophical, deep, powerful.
Peppermint cream lovers: Changeable, extreme, versatile.
Strawberry lovers: Gentle, placid, compassionate.
