{"id":24176,"date":"2021-06-02T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T08:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=24176"},"modified":"2021-06-01T16:18:54","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T16:18:54","slug":"the-secrets-of-chocolate-a-gourmands-trip-through-a-top-chefs-atelier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2021\/06\/02\/the-secrets-of-chocolate-a-gourmands-trip-through-a-top-chefs-atelier\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secrets of Chocolate: A Gourmand’s Trip Through a Top Chef’s Atelier"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy , translated by Montana Kane<\/strong> (NBM)
\nISBN: 978-1-68112-278-6 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-68112-279-3<\/p>\n

It seems there’s nothing you can’t craft compelling comics about if you’re talented and inspired, as this spellbinding catalogue of the chocolatiers’ art proves. Originally released au Continent<\/em> as Les Secrets du Chocolat<\/em><\/strong> in 2014, it’s a combination history, travelogue, docudrama and recipe book wherein Bande Dessin\u00c3\u00a9e star Franckie Alarcon is invited to spend a year shadowing a celebrated chocolatier at the Jacques Genin Chocolate Workshop<\/em>. In a scintillating and oddly moreish manner he imparts his sheer joy at discovering how new sweetmeats are created; subsequently learning the history of the wonder stuff and even travelling to South America with a maker to source a new supply of the magic beans\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

It all kicks off in December 2013 as the artist s recaps his recent past, detailing moments in his lifelong love affair with chocolate and revealing how he landed his ultimate passion project. Offered exclusive all-access to a literal chocolate factory, Alarcon began at Genin’s glamorous store\/outlet, meeting dedicated apprentices and journeymen and absorbing the basic skills of production while being subtly retrained in how to eat and appreciate the subject of his dreams\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

With positively lascivious renderings of classical chocs, and the secret recipes for making Candies<\/em>, Truffles<\/em>, Pralines<\/em>,Chocolate Tart<\/em>, Ganache<\/em>, Hot Chocolate<\/em> and Chocolate Mendiants<\/em>, Alarcon learns under a true inventive master in ‘Chocolates’<\/em> with each new taste sensation triggering a positively Proustian Madeleine moment in the gobsmacked artist\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The next phase of the journey of discovery follows in ‘Stephane Bonnat, From Bean to Bar’<\/em> as Alarcon explores the history and processes of chocolate production from France’s most prestigious manufacturer before celebrating with elan an industry holy day in ‘Valentine’s Day: Love in the Form of Chocolate’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Another big deal demanding the mastery of new skills is covered – or is that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153enrobed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? – in ‘Easter: Art on Chocolate’<\/em>after which May 20th<\/sup> 2014 sees the artist become fully-fledged as an ‘Intern: A Difficult Learning Experience’<\/em> mastering ‘Taste: The Source of Pleasure’<\/em> under Genin’s patient tutelage\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Making good on an earlier offer, Alarcon then joins Bonnat on a resource-hunting trip to the Amazon rainforest in search of a new kind of bean in ‘Cocoa: The Origins of Chocolate’<\/em> before the voyage of gustatory discovery concludes in September 2014 with some laudatory thoughts and even more tantalising visuals in ‘Parting Words: An All-Consuming Passion’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Beguiling, seductive and simply delightful, this is an inviting comics divertissement that will surely be to practically everyone’s taste\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\n\u00c2\u00a9 Editions Delcourt 2014. \u00c2\u00a9 2021 NBM for the English translation.<\/p>\n

The Secrets of Chocolate: A Gourmand’s Trip Through a Top Chef’s Atelier<\/strong> will be released digitally on June 15th<\/sup>2020 and published in hardback on June 17th<\/sup>. It is available for pre-order now. For more information and other great reads see http:\/\/www.nbmpub.com\/<\/a><\/franckie><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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