Paula McIntyre: The easiest way to support Fairtrade is to buy their chocolate and cocoa

They check that their standards have been met by the farmers, workers and companies that are part of the products supply chain. The Fairtrade mark on packaging ensures that the criteria has been certified. There are over 4,500 Fairtrade products from coffee and tea to flowers and even gold. In the UK there are 500 Fairtrade towns, 118 universities, over 6,000 churches and 4,000 schools registered to the Fairtrade Schools Scheme. Fairtrade Fortnight starts on the February 27th and is a time for us to support farmers across the globe.

Many growers in developing countries testify that without their support, it wouldn’t make economic sense to continue in business. Big conglomerates offered so little for the produce that it was actually costing money to farm, never mind allowing producers to making a profit. Much the same has happened to dairy farmers here – a price war between big corporations forced the price down so much that many went out of business altogether.

One of the easiest ways to support the campaign is by buying Fairtrade chocolate and cocoa products. It mightn’t solve all the issues immediately but by keeping up the demand it allows farmers to sell more of their products on fair terms and thus increasing their income. Buying local eggs, milk, butter and cream will help producers here too. The first recipe is for a burnt white chocolate cremeux. Cremeux translates as creamy. Cooking the white chocolate transforms it into a posh caramac and you end up with a lush scoopable mousse. For something crunchy to dip I’ve added a recipe for biscotti, which means twice cooked. A roll of biscuit dough is baked, sliced and baked again. A French/Italian collision supporting Fairtrade.

Bananas are also an easy to source Fairtrade product and the recipe here makes a loaf that’s then whizzed into French toast, topped with caramelized bananas and chocolate coffee sauce. An indulgent breakfast or anytime treat.