One of the most widely enjoyed mood-altering substances, chocolate is so much more than a sweet temptation at the grocery store checkout. As the Mayans well understood some 2,500 years ago, it can add depth and warmth to savoury dishes. Here’s how three chefs are slipping cocoa into our dinner.

Chocoholic: Tawfik Shehata, Vertical, 100 King St. W., 416-214-2252.
Dish: Shehata adds organic cocoa to his pasta dough to make wonderfully dense chitarra (spaghetti-like noodles). He tops it with a delicate ragoût of lamb, celeriac, carrots and a tomato concassée. $26.

Chocoholic: Claudio Aprile, Colborne Lane, 45 Colborne St., 416-368-9009.
Dish: Aprile likes to send out autumn-inspired mole ice pops—savoury chili-spiked dark chocolate with a basil bud–studded pumpkin purée—in the middle of a tasting menu. “Just to throw things off a bit,” he says. $5, on request.

Chocoholic: Matthew Kennedy, Sequel, 3362 Yonge St., 416-480-0996.
Dish: “I like to make sure every dish is balanced,” says Kennedy. He pairs Muscovy duck with chocolate sauce. The bitter sauce counters the richness of the duck and the sweetness of the accompanying sour cherry preserves. $26.

Related:
• Best Chocolatiers: The top 12 in the city
• Mature Content: Sugary treats are evolving, taking on a range of flavours more palatable to adults than sweet-toothed tots
• Hot Chocolate: A new shop-resto-lounge hybrid caters to Yorkville’s Valrhona addicts
• Sweets Hereafter: Sales of confections remain strong even when the economy tanks. Chris McDonald figures now is the perfect time to open an haute dessert shop