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the_sassy_bookworm's review
3.0
Nice eye catching cover on this one. Good representation of the subject matter found within. Great composition and title work as well.
This was an interesting little book chocked full of great info, tips, tricks, and recipes about the most fantastic food in the world...CHOCOLATE. It was well laid out and full of yummy photos and fun graphics. It is divided into the following chapters ( From the Bean, A Sense of Place, Tasting and Eating, Chocolate Snobs, and Labeling and the Art of Design.)
I wouldn't say it was the most riveting of books, but if you are looking at trying your hand at artisan chocolate making then this would be a good book to add to your collection.
wanderlustlover's review
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley, Storey Publishing LLC, and Megan Giller for the chance to read and review this ARC;
How does one even begin to explain the magic and depth of knowledge contained within this tome of glory? If you are a chocolate lover, run, don't walk and get yourself a copy of this book. It has amazing in-depth knowledge about the roots of chocolate, where it's come from, how its made, how it's changed through the ages.
The pictures alone will leave you feeling decadently craving and satisfied by the richness of the chocolate available in the world. Much like wine pairings, chocolate pairing pages are scattered, glorious and well detailed, with amazing art (all sorts of pairings, my favorite was the blue cheese set!). There will, also, be art processes on what goes into all you know about chocolate being made, and the differences of types of things you don't think about (such as hot chocolate vs. drinking chocolate, etc).
I am in utter adoration of this book and can't wait to be owning one!
How does one even begin to explain the magic and depth of knowledge contained within this tome of glory? If you are a chocolate lover, run, don't walk and get yourself a copy of this book. It has amazing in-depth knowledge about the roots of chocolate, where it's come from, how its made, how it's changed through the ages.
The pictures alone will leave you feeling decadently craving and satisfied by the richness of the chocolate available in the world. Much like wine pairings, chocolate pairing pages are scattered, glorious and well detailed, with amazing art (all sorts of pairings, my favorite was the blue cheese set!). There will, also, be art processes on what goes into all you know about chocolate being made, and the differences of types of things you don't think about (such as hot chocolate vs. drinking chocolate, etc).
I am in utter adoration of this book and can't wait to be owning one!
thesassybookworm's review
3.0
Nice eye catching cover on this one. Good representation of the subject matter found within. Great composition and title work as well.This was an interesting little book chocked full of great info, tips, tricks, and recipes about the most fantastic food in the world...CHOCOLATE. It was well laid out and full of yummy photos and fun graphics. It is divided into the following chapters ( From the Bean, A Sense of Place, Tasting and Eating, Chocolate Snobs, and Labeling and the Art of Design.) I wouldn't say it was the most riveting of books, but if you are looking at trying your hand at artisan chocolate making then this would be a good book to add to your collection.
truestorydesu's review
Everything I've ever wanted to know about my favorite thing in the whole wide world: chocolate! If you've ever stopped in the middle of a chocolate binge to wonder: where does chocolate actually come from? Then I highly recommend this book. You get a good sense to just how much work goes into creating chocolate, and you appreciate it much more than you did before.
Remember, people: climate change is creating problems for the chocolate industry. If we don't do something, we may face the worst possible scenario....chocolate shortages. We may end up in a world with no chocolate at all. Just writing those words makes my heart hurt.
Chocolate!
Remember, people: climate change is creating problems for the chocolate industry. If we don't do something, we may face the worst possible scenario....chocolate shortages. We may end up in a world with no chocolate at all. Just writing those words makes my heart hurt.
Chocolate!
caomhin's review
5.0
Bestill my beating heart! This book is so loaded with temptation it could easily lead me astray and be the ruin of me.
Okay, so it's a book about chocolate and more than a few of my friends know I'm partial to both books and chocolate so maybe this was an obvious combination for me but oh my, this is good. Giller makes reference to the artisan chocolate world having similarities with the craft beer and coffee cultures (admittedly, both also favourites of mine) and she delivers a book that would do any artisan industry proud. It could easily be about beer, coffee, bread, wine... Any focused area where people are creating with love and passion. Any mainstream product with a grow craft industry.
This book offers up an overview of the entire chocolate industry, but with a, rather obvious from the title, focus on the bean-to-bar manufacturers. The mass-production giants really only get a mention as a comparison, but it's not done dismissively. That's where a lot of these things can fall down, those easy attacks on the multinationals and such. The truth is many of us find the finer things in life through the easily accessible options. And due to the huge contrast, I can enjoy a bar of Dairy Milk in a completely different way to an expensive truffle from a quiet Belgian chocolatier. Although after this book perhaps I should revise the latter to an American bean-to-bar delicacy.
We get some history of chocolate in general, but again there's a focus on the recent innovations in artisan American chocolate. Individuals are highlighted, their companies are profiled, and their products discussed. It's a tribute to the people pushing their craft and it makes everything so enticing. I could barely read a page without wanting to note down a new company to look up. I wanted to stop and try every chocolate as it was mentioned, but to do so would take hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, and months of patience. And this book is as compulsive as chocolate. Once I settled into reading I wanted to keep going on and on. Glorious photos made my mouth water, but the words are what make this such a pleasure to read. It's not a love letter to chocolate, but a recognition of the love that these chocolatiers put into their work.
Not that the chocolate itself gets ignored. Far from it. I want to learn the pairing section by heart so I know exactly which tea or coffee to drink with my latest chocolate find. I want to study the map and learn the notes of the various countries. It's a guide to finding the best chocolate and understanding how to enjoy it as much as possible. There are even recipes too. I could've lived without them, which surprised me. I think it's partly how interesting the rest of the book was and partly that the recipes aren't as diverse as I might have hoped. I am confident I can make many kinds of chocolate truffle, but there was nothing especially out of the ordinary. They're mainly about using quality chocolate and handling it well instead of offering up something more exotic like a chocolate sauce for venison or such. So you get some good advice in general, but it could've been delivered more as tips than recipes.
Overall though, this is a glorious celebration of chocolate and the people dedicated to it. You really do see everything from bean to bar, and beyond - there are even items on the packaging! It's comprehensive without being dense, it's welcoming and invites you to join in this celebration of chocolate. It's as smooth and luxurious as the very product it talks about - and just like quality chocolate, it's worth treating yourself to this book.
Okay, so it's a book about chocolate and more than a few of my friends know I'm partial to both books and chocolate so maybe this was an obvious combination for me but oh my, this is good. Giller makes reference to the artisan chocolate world having similarities with the craft beer and coffee cultures (admittedly, both also favourites of mine) and she delivers a book that would do any artisan industry proud. It could easily be about beer, coffee, bread, wine... Any focused area where people are creating with love and passion. Any mainstream product with a grow craft industry.
This book offers up an overview of the entire chocolate industry, but with a, rather obvious from the title, focus on the bean-to-bar manufacturers. The mass-production giants really only get a mention as a comparison, but it's not done dismissively. That's where a lot of these things can fall down, those easy attacks on the multinationals and such. The truth is many of us find the finer things in life through the easily accessible options. And due to the huge contrast, I can enjoy a bar of Dairy Milk in a completely different way to an expensive truffle from a quiet Belgian chocolatier. Although after this book perhaps I should revise the latter to an American bean-to-bar delicacy.
We get some history of chocolate in general, but again there's a focus on the recent innovations in artisan American chocolate. Individuals are highlighted, their companies are profiled, and their products discussed. It's a tribute to the people pushing their craft and it makes everything so enticing. I could barely read a page without wanting to note down a new company to look up. I wanted to stop and try every chocolate as it was mentioned, but to do so would take hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, and months of patience. And this book is as compulsive as chocolate. Once I settled into reading I wanted to keep going on and on. Glorious photos made my mouth water, but the words are what make this such a pleasure to read. It's not a love letter to chocolate, but a recognition of the love that these chocolatiers put into their work.
Not that the chocolate itself gets ignored. Far from it. I want to learn the pairing section by heart so I know exactly which tea or coffee to drink with my latest chocolate find. I want to study the map and learn the notes of the various countries. It's a guide to finding the best chocolate and understanding how to enjoy it as much as possible. There are even recipes too. I could've lived without them, which surprised me. I think it's partly how interesting the rest of the book was and partly that the recipes aren't as diverse as I might have hoped. I am confident I can make many kinds of chocolate truffle, but there was nothing especially out of the ordinary. They're mainly about using quality chocolate and handling it well instead of offering up something more exotic like a chocolate sauce for venison or such. So you get some good advice in general, but it could've been delivered more as tips than recipes.
Overall though, this is a glorious celebration of chocolate and the people dedicated to it. You really do see everything from bean to bar, and beyond - there are even items on the packaging! It's comprehensive without being dense, it's welcoming and invites you to join in this celebration of chocolate. It's as smooth and luxurious as the very product it talks about - and just like quality chocolate, it's worth treating yourself to this book.
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Nice eye catching cover on this one. Good representation of the subject matter found within. Great composition and title work as well.This was an interesting little book chocked full of great info, tips, tricks, and recipes about the most fantastic food in the world...CHOCOLATE. It was well laid out and full of yummy photos and fun graphics. It is divided into the following chapters ( From the Bean, A Sense of Place, Tasting and Eating, Chocolate Snobs, and Labeling and the Art of Design.) I wouldn't say it was the most riveting of books, but if you are looking at trying your hand at artisan chocolate making then this would be a good book to add to your collection.
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