The Secrets of Chocolate: A Gourmand's Trip Through a Top Chef's Atelier

by Franckie Alarcon

Overview

Following Jacques Genin for a year, Franckie Alarcon hobnobbed with one of the biggest chefs of Chocolate. Former chef and pastry chef for prestigious restaurants, this super-talented autodidact shares all his passion and knowledge of chocolate and his process for creating recipes. In this docu-comic, we travel with the starry-eyed author, satisfying many a craving from the chef’s amazing atelier above his store, trying his hand as an apprentice, all the way to the Peruvian cocoa plantations where another chef shows how one carefully chooses the beans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681122786
Publisher:	N B M Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Born in the port town of Brest, Brittany, Franckie Alarcon studied graphic arts in Nantes, and after a few years as a graphic artist, decided to go freelance as illustrator and comic artist, realizing various graphic novels for prominent French publishers.

Editorial Reviews

05/24/2021

Alarcon draws for his dessert in this frothy diary-style account of his year spent shadowing a renowned chocolatier. Alarcon is a chocoholic who rewards himself with bites of 70% dark chocolate to motivate his drawing work. After he met chef Jacques Genin, he fell for his chocolate-covered pastries and candies. In late 2013, Alarcon began regularly visiting Genin’s kitchen to observe, sketch, ask questions, and bother the staff. He learned about creating truffles, mendiants, tarts, rochers, ganache, praline, and more. Later, he interviewed another chocolatier who roasts and processes his own cocoa beans and travels with him on a trip to Peru to scout out a new cocoa plantation. Alarcon is a squeamish traveler who winces over the food he is offered by the indigenous Peruvian farmers, and throughout he comes across as rather starstruck and weak-willed. (Sexist and xenophobic humor, meanwhile, such as women always swarming the chef or caricatures of an Asian tea purveyor, don’t do him any favors.) Alarcon’s drawings are simple but effective, easily capturing lively gestures and technical details. There’s a puff piece feel to the proceedings, but Alcaron’s fellow sweet-tooths will appreciate the recipes and industry secrets. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"It’s one of the best kind of educational comics: the kind where the reader learns a lot without realizing it. It’s an excellent suggestion for any aspiring foodie." —School Library Journal

"Reading this book leaves one not only hungry for chocolate, but to taste some of the varieties mentioned in the book, in order to improve one’s palate for future enjoyment. Overall, this is an excellent work." —ICv2

"A lighthearted look at the world of French chocolate, as well as a glimpse into the way cacao beans become processed chocolate and some discussions of the history of chocolate and how a person’s palate works. It would be a great choice for fans of books like Cook Korean!. At slightly smaller than standard paper size, it won’t be out of place on graphic novel shelves and would be a solid addition to nonfiction graphic collections." —No Flying No Tights

From the Publisher