Like many pregnant women, Sarah Hamouda had a craving. She wanted chocolate - not just any chocolate, but one that reminded her of pudding. Growing up in an Egyptian family which had moved to Britain, she had particularly loved a Middle Eastern dessert called knafeh, made from shredded filo pastry, soft cheese and syrup. Unfortunately no such chocolate existed - so she set out to create it.   

An engineer by training, Sarah had never tried making chocolate. "I threw myself into learning everything I could," she says,¹ "and along the way I had the privilege of working with some truly amazing people.

"So many versions were created I lost count. We kept refining, tweaking and testing, never settling. Even after we launched, we continued to improve the recipes because we knew they could be better."

The final version included a gooey filling of pistachio cream and tahiniA Middle Eastern spread made from sesame seeds. . Sarah and her husband Yezen Alani, who moved to DubaiA city in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. It is known for its ultramodern architecture, nightlife and shopping and is home to many Europeans. 10 years ago, set up a company called FIX to sell it.

When they first launched the bar in 2022, demand was so low that their online shop was selling one a week. Then they sent a sample to a local influencer, Maria Vehera, who posted a TikTok video of herself gorging on it.

Before they knew it, they had more than 30,000 orders.² The video has now been seen over 123 million times.

Today FIX employs 50 people, but as every bar is handmade, production is limited. Can't Get Knafeh Of It can only be bought in the United Arab Emirates, can only be ordered via Deliveroo, and is sold for just two hours a day. The price is around £15 a bar.

Seeing a gap in the market, major companies have hurried to produce imitation bars for sale in other countries. But they too have struggled to meet the huge demand. Waitrose has limited customers to two bars of Lindt's Dubai Style Chocolate and Lidl has done the same with its own version.

Morrisons is now selling Dubai-style Easter eggs and Aldi is launching a Dubai-style ice-cream.

Made from the seeds of the cacao tree, chocolate was originally drunk rather than eaten. Traces of it have been found in Mexico dating from 1900BC.

It was introduced to Europe by Christopher ColumbusA 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas. , who brought back cocoa beans from America in the 16th Century. As it became fashionable, people started buying it in a solid form. Paris established itself as a key chocolate-making centre: one of the leaders of the French Revolution, Pauline Leon, came from a family of chocolatiers.

Chocolate bars have been produced on an industrial scale since the early 19th Century. They became more popular still in the 1850s when a less bitter version, milk chocolate, was invented.  

Famous chocolate-lovers have included Maria Theresa, the Spanish wife of Louis XIVA 17th-Century French king who expanded the powers of the French monarchy and turned his country into the greatest power in the world. However, by the end of his long, 72-year reign he had squandered much of this advantage.. Her wedding present to him was a trunk filled with chocolate, and she brought with her a servant whose only duty was frothing chocolate.

Another French queen, Marie AntoinetteQueen of France from 1774 until her execution during the French Revolution in 1792., drank chocolate in the bath, and NapoleonThe French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. ate it while planning military campaigns. 

Is indulgence wrong?

Yes: Dealing successfully with life's demands requires discipline. That means keeping control of your cravings, which distract you from more important things and often damage your health.

No: Life is tough and would be unbearable if we did not allow ourselves some treats to compensate for all the terrible things it throws at us. A bit of chocolate never hurt anybody.

Or... Indulgence is fine - it is when it becomes overindulgence that problems arise. The saying "nothing in excess" was one of the key points of Ancient Greek philosophy known as the Delphic maxims.

Tahini - A Middle Eastern spread made from sesame seeds.

Dubai - A city in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. It is known for its ultramodern architecture, nightlife and shopping and is home to many Europeans.

Christopher Columbus - A 15th Century Italian explorer and navigator whose trips across the Atlantic opened the way for European colonisation of the Americas.

Louis XIV - A 17th-Century French king who expanded the powers of the French monarchy and turned his country into the greatest power in the world. However, by the end of his long, 72-year reign he had squandered much of this advantage.

Marie Antoinette - Queen of France from 1774 until her execution during the French Revolution in 1792.

Napoleon - The French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.