When hazelnuts and chocolate collide, interesting things begin to happen. World Nutella Day is celebrated by millions around the globe on February 5. Adding hazelnuts when cocoa is hard to come by was an Italian trick during hard times. In 1800s, in Piedmont, Italy, they made a paste of chocolate and hazelnuts at a time when the nuts were abundant, but the cocoa was not. 1964, Pietro Ferrero’s son Michele gave the jar of creamy hazelnut and cocoa the name Nutella. Nutella French Toast!