Wild Sweets: Chocolate: Savory, Sweet, Bites, Drinks.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

A lot of people say they love chocolate, but how many of them are willing to make a commitment? Chefs Dominique and Cindy Duby have. As two of North America’s most renowned chocolatiers and pastry chefs, they have spent much of their careers pondering the possibilities of all things chocolate. Over the past 10 years they have represented Canada in many international pastry competitions and have used chocolate in scores of award-winning desserts. In this book, they showcase many of the amazing desserts they have created over the years, but they also take chocolate where it has rarely gone before.

Before the art comes the science of cooking. The first chapter explores the physical and cultural reasons why things taste the way they do to most people. Then the Dubys explain how certain foods combine with each other to create exciting new flavours that are better than the individual parts. Finally, the Dubys explain that for a dish to be a success it has to resonate with all the senses. With these principles established, it is easier then for the reader to understand how chocolate can be more than a dessert flavour.

The content is divided into four main chapters, titled “Savoury,” “Sweet,” “Bites,” and “Drinks.” Each dish is a combination of disparate recipes that are brought together in creative and often surprising ways. The science lessons continue as the Dubys sometimes take the time to inspect a particular ingredient in detail such as agar, an Asian gelatine-like substance made from seaweed that not only allows chefs to keep a dish vegetarian but adds a distinctive texture to a dish. The book concludes with a few pages on wine pairings, and basic recipes for essential sauces and sprinkles.

Scores of gorgeous colour and black-and-white photographs guide the reader as to what the finished recipes could look like and many can be appreciated as works of art in themselves. If you have decided to shake your cooking world up a bit, you definitely should take a walk on the Wild Sweets side.