Les secrets du chocolat

by Franckie Alarcon

En suivant Jacques Genin pendant un an, Franckie Alarcon a côtoyé l'un des plus grands noms du chocolat. Ancien chef et pâtissier de maisons prestigieuses, cet autodidacte surdoué a partagé toute sa passion et sa connaissance du chocolat, de son processus de création à ses recettes, dans cet album gourmand qui vous fera voyager de l'atelier parisien du chef aux plantations de cacao péruviennes.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Food, Nonfiction, Comics, Cookbooks, France, Bande Dessinée

111 pages, Hardcover

Published November 13, 2014

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cartoonist spends a year with a French chocolate enrober. I really liked how enthusiastic about the food the artist was. The problem was that no matter how enthusiastic he was, it still didn't make most of this very interesting. He did interject some humor into some very dry subjects. Unfortunately, this was something of a lost cause for anyone who isn't a chocolate connoisseur.

Received a review copy from NBM and Edelweiss

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young child, the graphic illustrator was enamored with Tintin and chocolate. Franckie begins a year-long project writing and drawing about the life of Chocolate enrober (not a chocolatier) and former chef Jacques Genin. Jacques does not make chocolate from scratch but creates chocolates such as truffles, candies, bars, roches, mediants, pralines, ganaches (a four-day process), and more. Franckie learns the techniques of making these enticing chocolates by observing and becoming an apprentice of Jacques and his assistant, Sophie. He develops a more refined palate after sampling many of these creations, including the lime tarragon ganache. Jacques uses Valrhone chocolate and recommends chocolate with 56 to 64% cocoa. There were handy tips on using a pastry bag. If I travel to Paris, I would love to visit his chocolate shop as Genin is passionate about taste, excellence, and creativity and has a keenly developed palate.

I plan to try Jacques’ simple recipe for hot chocolate. Chop up 300 grams of 64% chocolate. Bring 1 liter of whole milk to boil. Add chocolate pieces. Melt and stir constantly, and voila, hot chocolate! For cold chocolate, wait for it to cool, pour into a shaker with ice cubes, put on lid, shake, and serve.

Jacques claimed a perfect pairing between Chateau d’Yquem, a Sauternes dessert wine, with Roquefort cheese, which I would relish to savor, too.

Franckie travels to Voiron to meet Stéphane Bonnat, a fifth generation chocolatier, who owns Bonnat Chocolatier. Stéphane introduces him to the roasting, crushing, conching, and preservation of making chocolate. Bonnat invites Franckie to join him on a trip to the Peru to explore the origins of chocolate. Franckie views the harvesting, fermentation, drying, packaging, and shipping of the cocoa beans at a plantation in the Amazon.

This is a comic documentary for anyone interested in chocolate whether a nibbler or an enthusiast. I have even a greater appreciation of the time, talent, palate, and effort in creating these sensual and indulgent concoctions. Chocalicious! My disappointment was that I had no sensual chocolates at home to indulge my craving.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have just been hungry. It doesn’t rationalize eating a book about a food I do not eat, but there it is. And at any rate, it was a quick and cute read.
The author is very passionate about chocolate, kind of an addict, possibly. It’s a passion I don’t share, but it nevertheless comes through the pages in a fun light fashion. In a wish come true for any chocoholic, he gets to hang out with famous chocolatiers for a year while making this book. And so he learns to make certain treats, goes to Peru to find and taste the source of cocoa and more or less eats his weight in chocolate. And, because he’s European, he apparently stays rail thin, but that’s neither here nor there.
Anyway, this was a cute read and lovely graphics. The art is cartoonish in style and sophistication, but bright and fun. Chocolate fans should probably read it in digital form, because otherwise their drool would destroy the pages. Nom nom.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Maia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned some facts about chocolate but overall I wasn't super impressed by this.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Go figure. I love chocolate and hate sushi, but when it comes to graphic novels I prefer Franchi Alarcon's The Art of Sushi to this one about chocolate. The sushi book just had more charm and energy thanks to the travel, the locale, and the colorful plates of food. Here, despite a brief sojourn to Peru near the end, we're mostly stuck in the same workshop in France talking to the same guy and the food presentation is flat and mired in swaths of brown.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A starstruck comic book artist spends a year interning and learning about the art and production of high end chocolate. He’s seems like a bit of a pest as he hangs out at the factory, but maybe that was added to lend humor to the otherwise dry proceedings.

I like that they called it a docu-comic! (Although autocorrect does not-I had to type that word 3x 🤨) And I wonder if they felt constrained by that script font-I think hand written might have worked better. It had me wondering whether the font was changed in translation because it seemed like an awkward choice-especially in places where all caps were used.

[Y.S. Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secret Of Chocolate is an author's journey through the process of making chocolate. It details the process and procedure of making chocolate confectionery and the care that goes into it. Through the eyes and hands of chocolate makers and cocoa producers, we are able to share the joy of growing a crop that goes into making one of the most delectable treats in the world.

THINGS I LOVE IN THIS BOOK
The enthusiasm of the author is infectious. It is clear he loves chocolate and the process of making it. Through his eyes, the reader is able to appreciate the efforts and techniques that go into creating some of the most popular treats on the market today.

DISLIKES
The font choice for this book is not suitable for the eyes. It is curly and requires extra attention to decipher some of the phrases used. It is a poor choice of font, if I may say so.

WHO THIS IS FOR
If you love chocolate and are curious about the level of creativity and toil that goes into making it, there is a high chance you will enjoy reading The Secret Of Chocolate.

[Nakedfartbarfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the style in this little bio-comic. A mendiant mix of Madeline animation with French fashion illustration. Even when the backgrounds were only inked in, the clothes & confections were vibrant. I liked hearing how a palate matures in a year at a chocolate atelier.

Late in the book, the author heads to South America and visits a cocoa plantation self-run by a village in the Peruvian Amazonia, accessible only by canoe. To pretend there’s no child labor involved would be pointless, but there are a total of maybe three sentences in the entire book that obliquely mention just how quashed producers are by manufacturers. It’s clear that the foregrounded artisans and enrobers and chocolatiers who make their boutique living from cocoa don’t exactly endorse this, and one of them makes a nebulous reference to “trying to improve living conditions for farmers and their families,” but I’d like to have heard more from anyone on either end of the supply chain. Even dedicating one full page to this topic would make the book less of a jaunt, but where better to sound these critiques than the populist tribunal of comix?

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this graphic novel spent a year with one of the world's best chocolatiers. This is his story, along with other wonderful information about chocolate.

[Joanne Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun graphic novel with recipes and all kind of great information. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes chocolate, cooking, or foodie books. This would be a nice pairing with Lucy Knisely books or any type of book with a chocolate connection.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did.
The positives:
-I learned a lot about chocolate.
-You could tell the author was very passionate about the book and that the chef he followed was very passionate about chocolate

The negatives:
-the font was SO hard to read. I guess they decided to make it look like cursive handwriting to make it more elegant but it really just hurt my eyes. Also, so of the flow of speech bubbles was off and didn't follow a logical order.
-It was pretty dry and matter-of-fact. There are some recipes (none that I would ever attempt as they were so complicated). I often felt like I was watching the part of the Great British Baking Show where they describe the treat they are making and I zone out because it sounds super complicated.

[Niche · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good info, bad presentation

It was kind of okay, but I hated the font used for the text and found it tedious to read. I also think I would have liked it more if it was a narrative about a chocolatier going about their shop rather than from the perspective of a tourist in the shop.

[Caleste Hawthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I actually am using 5 stars in a way that I don't typically use! I gave it 5 stars because it met my expectations and then exceeded them. The type of BS people will write means five stars when you order delivery 😂

I really picked up this book to see cool pictures of chocolate and maybe learn the history of this particular chef's atelier. I got that and beautiful pictures of chocolate and the feeling that chocolate can bring through aromas, textures, and personal history. It also had actual recipes to make things at home 🤯 ALSO with ways to make things easier lol. I have a hobby of making desserts and there are some things that are somewhat annoying to deal with (piping bags) and they gave me tips on making that work better! I even learned how chefs will go to taste the Mucilage (the pulp around the cocoa beans) to see the flavors that they can then reincorporate through roasting.

I would absolutely recommend this graphic novel to anyone who loves chocolate and plan to buy my own copy as I read it from the library.

[Darcy Roar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love graphic novels about food (especially cooking/science-y ones), The Secrets of Chocolate really hits that perfect point between interesting information, clear passion, and entertaining delivery. I quite enjoyed how the author portrayed himself as a lurking (often irritating)pest for much of the comic while still venerating the chefs and artisans. It had an authentic but not excessively self deprecating feel that worked for me. Overall, a lovely look into one tiny, fancy corner of the world of chocolate.

[Sarah Ressler Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great! I really didn’t know how truly intensive the process of making chocolate and then turning the delicious chocolate stuff into amazing flavored chocolates and more. Originally published in French, a nonfiction memoir of graphic novelist’s interactions first with someone who makes chocolate confections and then with someone who sources the beans. Highly recommend for adults although not sure how many kids want to read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A food writer spends a year with a top chocolate maker in France then shares his adventures in a graphic format - it's like a food documentary in graphic format. If you are a chocolate lover, you will enjoy this, but may be a niche audience. There is humor throughout. Graphics are clear, colorful, and will make readers want to eat chocolate.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would have enjoyed this more if I LOVED chocolate and knew what they were talking about most of the time :)

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. I learned a lot about a favorite snack, and about how chocolate is made. I personally purchase fair-trade chocolate only.

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

look for my review of this at noflyingnotights.com coming soon!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I want gourmet chocolates I can never afford!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me crave good quality chocolate! I feel like the cursive font is unnecessary and only slows down the reader, though.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was neat. Now I want to eat some chocolate.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A year in a chocolate shop, with some details about the manufacturing process.

[Ann-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on the knowledge of chocolate.

[jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

really informative, though not super exciting. i liked it, but i like learning about food. if you have no interest, you probably won't enjoy this. also, the font is super hard to read.

[moi, k.y.a. · Rating 2 out of 5]

yemekhanede kahvaltı için beklerken telefonumda buldum. kendimi daha da acıktırdığım, çikolata krizine soktuğum için de kendimi ayrıca tebril ediyorum.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this graphic novel! The illustrations are so clear and easy to read and I felt like a learned a lot. Also I was super hungry the whole time. I want to eat some real chocolate!

[MKF · Rating 1 out of 5]

Learned a lot but the text was hard to read and sometimes the text bubbles was difficult to follow at times also a bit boring.

[Callie Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The layout design and font choice made this unreadable for me. Clearly the author is both a talented artist and fascinated by the process of making chocolates, but I didn’t find that enough to warrant making this book in this manner.