Embracing a Healthy Family: chocolate a love story

Product Details:

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (November 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316056626
ISBN-13: 978-0316056625
Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches

Chocolate A Love Story is a collection of 65 chocolate dessert recipes from Max Brenner's private collection. Max Brenner, at an early age of 10, read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and decided from that point forward, he was going to find a river of chocolate.

Max has locations in Philadelphia, New York City, Australia, Phillipines, Singapore and Israel and there are many products available at his online shop HERE. One product that Max is known for is the "Hug Mug" which is a coffee mug shaped to keep your hands warm. In NYC and Philadelphia, this is a great idea! If you are looking for a great gift with a chocolate or indulgence theme, this is your spot.

What I enjoyed the most about Chocolate A Love Story was Max's inclusion of himself into the various pages of this creative book. The artist, Yontan Factor, provides an interesting and unique perspective to introducing art into this clever display of mouthwatering chocolate creations. I have to admit, my first impression was one of confusion as I couldn't understand how this was a recipe book but after opening my mind, reading personally about Max and the artist, finally each recipe, I quickly fell in love with the concept of the book. I feel this would be a great gift to any chocolate lover, a chef, a novice or even as a romantic gift. This is not your run of the mill cookbooks as it's a piece of art on many levels from this chocolate genius.

I believe by reading Max's path towards his reality of bringing his chocolate to life, one can understand the passion behind the book, the recipes and the man himself.

"On the one hand, it is the most romantic gift; on the other hand, a commodity that is traded in the bourse. It is sold like precious jewelry that is picked carefully from a crystal glass, but also is an addictive snack in every corner kiosk. It is tasted like a fine wine and licked straight from the bowl...These diverse aspects of chocolate and of life are the inspiration for our book."

This is a sample of recipes:

The Belgian Street Waffle <-- My Favorite
Spy Thriller Chocolate Black Forest Cake
Military Porridge
Pretentious White Chocolate Panna Cotta
Overwhelming Oriental White Chocolate Malabi
Meaningless Sweet Spaghetti
Home Industry Chocolate Cheese Pockets

The entire book if filled with mouth watering enticements which made me want to try nearly all of them. One thing to note, they are not all easy recipes and are involving with a variety of ingredients and a few steps but well worth it! This is a great way to either indulge yourself or someone else.

I tried the Belgian Street Waffles and loved them! I had to buy a few extra ingredients that I don't normally have on hand but most recipes are like that unless you are already a master chef. The bonus I like about Chocolate A Love Story is that Max describes how to display your own masterpiece on the plate for the final touch.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to cook and who likes chocolate. This makes a great table book or an addition to the recipe book collection. It's a beautiful display of creativity coupled with delicious recipes.

Special thanks to Hachette Book Group and The Product Review Place for providing this opportunity to review Chocolate A Love Story.

Note: Hachette Book Group provided this opportunity to review Chocolate A Love Story. I was provided the book and received no financial compensation to provide my independent review.