Chocolat author on how she can smell colour

The smell of chocolate can be hard to resist, especially at Easter when it's in plentiful supply. For author of the bestselling novel Chocolat, that smell is triggered not only by being near the sweet treat - but also when she looks at certain colours.

Harris, who is from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was talking about her synaesthesia at an event in York as part of the city's five-day chocolate festival.

"We normally think of our senses as pretty much like everybody else's senses, but somebody with synaesthesia has a particular intersection of the senses, which means that in my case, colours trigger scents," she said.

"I see the colour and then I get the scent from the colour. Chocolate generally is red. Most shades of red are more or less chocolatey."

Speaking at the event hosted by Chocolate & Co, Harris said: "In my case, colours trigger scents - so that book smells of coffee, because to me, the colour orange smells of coffee. So I have to shut my eyes to see if there is a real smell in the room or whether I can just smell the colours around the room."

The event was part of York Chocolate Festival, a five-day celebration of all things cocoa, taking place from 1–5 April.

"When I wrote Chocolat, I didn't really know much about chocolate at all, but I have learned so much about it in the interim time, because I keep being invited to chocolate factories, chocolate festivals, chocolate cafes, and I get to meet chocolate professionals of all kinds," she said.

Chocolat, which was published in 1999, is set in the fictional French village of Lansquenet.

It tells the story of Vianne Rocher, who moves there and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church.

As it is the beginning of Lent, the season of abstinence, the local priest denounces her as a moral danger to his clergy.

The book was made into a film starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Vianne.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, Harris said: "Because I process the world through colours and scents, I often write about the world in colours and scents.

"I think people have often commented on how many sensory impressions there are in my work.

"But I also think that I like books to be as immersive as possible, because we all process the world through our senses.

"And so to make a book immersive, I thought, well, if I have as many sensory impressions as possible in this book, then people will approach it in that way."

The event was held to raise funds for Chocolate & Co, which is a cafe set up to offer a second chance to those facing addiction and social exclusion.

York Chocolate Festival is a free event which features local artisan stalls, chocolate workshops, and live demonstrations in a city renowned for its chocolate heritage.

According to the NHS, synaesthesia is a condition in which normal sensory stimulation triggers unusual sensory responses.

It is when two or more of the senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together - like a mixing of the senses.

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