The Secrets of Chocolate

By Frankie Alarcon. Published by NBM.

Hardcover, 112 Pages, Colour, 2021 (originally published in French in 2014)

Following Jacques Genin for a year, Franckie Alarcon hobnobbed with one of the biggest chefs of Chocolate. Former chef and pastry chef for prestigious restaurants, this super-talented autodidact shares all his passion and knowledge of chocolate and his process for creating recipes. In this docu-comic, we travel with the starry-eyed author, satisfying many a craving from the chef’s amazing atelier above his store, trying his hand as an apprentice, all the way to the Peruvian cocoa plantations where another chef shows how one carefully chooses the beans.
Reviews:
"I never knew how much I didn't know about chocolate until I read this NBM Graphic Novel. The only downside: I want to eat all the chocolate."
-Tony Isabella
"This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in gourmet desserts or how much can be done with chocolate. It's remarkably detailed, but the  conversational approach makes it seems approachable as well. It's one of the best kind of educational comics: the kind where the reader learns a lot without realizing it. It's an excellent suggestion for any aspiring foodie."
-Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading/Good Comics for Kids
"A lighthearted look at the world of French chocolate, as well as a glimpse into the way cacao beans become processed chocolate and some discussions of the history of chocolate and how a person's palate works."
-No Flying No Tights
"Reading this book leaves one not only hungry for chocolate, but to taste some of the varieties mentioned in the book, in order to improve one's palate for future enjoyment. Overall, this is an excellent work."
-ICv2
"It's one of the best kind of educational comics: the kind where the reader learns a lot without realizing it. It's an excellent suggestion for any aspiring foodie."
-School Library Journal, Good Comics for Kids
"Fellow sweet-tooths will appreciate the recipes and industry secrets."
-Publishers Weekly
8 x 10, 112pp., full color HC