Packed with gorgeous illustrations and delicious-sounding dessert recipes, Chocolate: A Love Story is sure to please anyone who has a sweet tooth.
Chef Max Brenner, a.k.a. The Bald Man, brings us a wonderful new book that is more than just a collection of recipes. In Chocolate: A Love Story, Brenner offers readers ways to set a mood with food: each recipe is wonderfully titled – "Intimate Scones," anyone? – and each page tells a story, literally.
Recipe Highlights
Brenner's book is filled with easy-to-follow recipes for all occasions, from breakfast foods to cocktails and soups.
- Eco-friendly Chocolate Bread Pudding is made from leftovers, so there is no waste.
- Innocent Meringue Kisses are naughtily dipped in chocolate and served with passion fruit.
- The Meaningless Sweet Spaghetti is served with a chocolate ganache sauce.
- The Handsome Tiramisu with white chocolate, Irish Cream and espresso is a Felinesque dream come true.
Every recipe is not only accompanied by gorgeous, full colour illustrations – turning the book into a functional objet d'art – but also by a little vignette, a short story, anecdote, or memory from Brenner's childhood. At the very least, each page contains words of wisdom from the chocolatier, who approaches the tool of his trade – chocolate itself – with a respect usually reserved for the divine.
Chef Max Brenner
Restaurateur Max Brenner always wanted to be a writer, but life had something else in store for him. While he started out as an aspiring bohemian writer, for the last ten years, he has been a star chocolatier.
Chocolate by the Bald Man, Brenner's international line of restaurants, now boasts 22 locations worldwide. The Union Square location alone attracts more than 400,000 customers every year – chocolate aficionados who gather to enjoy the twelve varieties of hot chocolate offered at the restaurant, or indulge in one of Brenner's signature dishes.
Artist Yonathan Factor
Israeli designer and branding expert Yonathan Factor has become famous for his use of bold shapes and colours and his unique illustration style, inspired by poster art of decades past. He has been collaborating with Max Brenner since 1999.
In Chocolate: A Love Story, Factor uses art deco posters as a starting point for illustrations that are at once angular and organic, bringing a feeling of nostalgia to Brenner's already sentimental vignettes. The result is a sumptuous volume that is as much art book, as it is cook book.
"Chocolate is the substitute for love and will always be there for you."(Max Brenner, Chocolate: A Love Story.)
Many share Max Brenner's passion for chocolate, and his popularity has skyrocketed over the years. The chocolatier has been a guest on a variety of television shows including Paula's Home Cooking and The Martha Stewart Show. Chocolate: A Love Story is his first book. At last, the chocolate maker is a writer.
Publication Details
Title: Chocolate: A Love Story
Author: Max Brenner
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: 11/2/2009
ISBN: 9780316056625
Sources
To find out more about Max Brenner's Chocolate Culture, visit the confectioner's official website. To find out more about Chocolate: A Love Story and other great books, visit the Hachette Book Group website.
Andree Lachapelle - Andrée reviews books, movies and local events, and brings you essential beauty, fashion, travel and wedding planning tips.
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