The Gourmet's Guide to Chocolate

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

This is a good information package quite similar to the “long and narrow” pocket encyclopedias pioneered by Mitchell Beazley in England (which deal primarily with wines and foods). Bergen, a freelance writer in New York, says, “This book is a guide to the best chocolates from a dozen nations. It describes each country’s basic chocolate making style.” There are no rankings, since these are the top-rated companies, but of course there are differences in style, comparable to those of Bordeaux and Burgundy in the world of wines. The preliminary text (about one quarter of the book) covers the history, science, and technology of chocolate making, as well as what to look for in a good chocolate. Then there is a country-by-country arrangement of a survey of manufacturers; this is half the book. The last quarter deals with how to conduct a chocolate tasting, storage, cooking, and drinking with chocolate. Sources are also given, with addresses for mail orders. The book concludes with a glossary and bibliography. There is much Canadian content here, with two Canadian chocolate companies mentioned and four pages of sources recorded. But since there is no need to carry the book about in a purse/pocket in order to make purchases, I fail to see why it was published in such a small format. These kinds of books are difficult to store on the shelf, whether at home or in the library.